Prostate pollen

Cactus flower extracts have also been reputed to be of benefit in the treatment of men with BPH, although there are no published studies regarding their clinical effects. A recent study demonstrated such extracts to have 5a-reductase inhibitory activity in cultured foreskin fibroblasts, and also in human placental and prostatic homogenates (Jonas et al., 1998). Cernilton, a pollen extract, has also been reported to have an inhibitory effect on 5a-reductase activity (Tunn and Krieg, 1992)... 

Herbal remedies hold a different place in medical practice in many European countries than in the United States. One of the most dramatic examples of the difference is in the treatment of benign prostate disease. This very common condition affects about 25 percent of men in their forties and nearly 80 percent of men who are over 70. In Germany, several hundred million dollars are spent annually on prostate remedies, with 80 percent of that spent on herbal medications. Herbal medications dominate the market for treating nonmalignant prostate disease. They have very few side effects and cost per dose approximately 20 to 35 percent of what synthetic drugs do. Treatment with herbal preparations typically costs under a dollar a day. Four of the most popular in Germany are extracts from the fruit of the saw palmetto, pumpkin seeds, rye pollen extract, and nettle root. 

The fat soluble extract from rye pollen also showed dual inhibition against COX and 5-LOX pathways with IC50 values of 5 pg/ml and 80 pg/ml, respectively. The clinical usage of the pollen extract for benign prostate diseases might due to such dual inhibition activities [200]. 

POLLEN The active ingredients are believed to be short-chain peptides, phytosterols and glycopeptides but their exact identity has not been confirmed. By incubation of prostatic-carcinoma-cell cultures with pollen, a diminished cell proliferation has been observed. In a multicentre, double-blind study all relevant parameters showed significant improvements after administration of pollen extract. 

Pollen JJ, Dreilinger A. Immunohistochemical identification of prostatic acid phosphatase and prostate specific antigen in female periurethral glands. Urology. 1984 23 303. 

Cemilton , a product obtained from rye pollen, is an effective agent in the treatment of prostatic inflammatory disease and benign prostatic hyperplasia [139]. In 1995, DIBOA was identified as a constituent of the water soluble pollen extract [66]. The purified active fraction of Cemilton showed dose-dependent effects on DNA-synthesis in epithelial cells. At low concentrations, DNA synthesis was stimulated, indicated by a 300% increase in radiolabelled thymidine incorporation. Concentrations larger than 1 pg/ml resulted in an inhibition up to 80% after 5 days of exposure. Fibroblast cells react in a similar way and prostate DU 145 cells showed the same inhibition after treatment with the active fraction as they do after exposure to synthetic DIBOA. From the studies is was clear, that DIBOA must be causative for the effects of Cemilton. Cell growth inhibition was thought to be due to the chelating properties of the compound [67]. As demonstrated MCF-7 breast cancer-and COS-7-cells were inhibited as well [140]. From the morphology of treated DU-145 cells the authors concluded DIBOA-induced cell death. 

Placental alkaline phosphatase Pollen allergens Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) Proteinase A (S. cerevisiae)... 

Certain androstene derivatives are male sex hormones in higher animals (E 3.1). The most important ones in man are androstenedione and testosterone, which are produced in the testes. In the target tissues, e.g., the prostate gland testosterone is reduced to 5a-androstane-17 -ol-3-one, which seems to be the real metabolic effector. The androstenedione and testosterone that accumulate in certain plant cells, e.g., in the pollen of Pinus sylvestris probably have an ecological function (E 5.5.3). 5a-Androst-16-en-3-one and 5a-androst-16-en-3 x-ol are sex pheromones of the boar (E 4). 5oc-Androst-16-en-3-one is also a constituent of human urine (the urine of males containing three times the concentration of the urine of females) and 5a-androst-16-en-3oc-ol was shown to occur in the sweat of male humans. 

---