Bee+Pollen



= Bee Pollen: =



Pollen that is produced by the male seed of flowers, when a bee lands on the flower it gets covered with the pollen. The bee then uses tiny hairs called pollen combs to scrape the pollen from its limbs and bodies, and mixes it with a small amount of honey brought from its hive as it compacts the honey and pollen it turns into a gradual, this is bee pollen. Bee pollen comes in many forms to ingest the most popular being powders and capsules. The cost of bee pollen ranges from about $10 to $20 for about 16 oz of powder. It can be purchased at most health food stores, and also can be purchased online from many online vendors. Bee pollen is not banned from NCAA or IOC. **Physiology:**

Some physiological functions of bee pollen include: accelerated mitotic rate, promotion of tissue repair, enhancing toxic elimination, and reducing excess cholesterol levels (Nogueira, Iglesias, Feás, & Estevinho, 2012).

==== One thing to be weary about when taking bee p ollen supplements is that pollen is exposed to microbial contamination. Microbial Contamination can be prevellent in bee pollen because of the various factors that pollen is exposed to which may include honeybees, weater, plant meterials, insects, animals, and humans agriculture practices. In addition, If bee pollen is not properly dryed and processed correctly, mycotoxin growth and undesirable fermentations may occur (Nogueira, Iglesias, Feás, & Estevinho, 2012). ====

Bee Pollen can be used many ways in the body. The best evidence shows that bee pollen can be used for athletic performance. It has also been said that bee pollen accompanied by other substances may effect: appetite stimulation, premature aging, hay fever, mouth sores, joint pain, painful urination, prostate conditions, nosebleeds, menstrual problems, constipation, diarrhea, colitis, weight loss, and other conditions.

====It has been reported that anaphylaxis shock has occurred from ingesting bee pollen. Pollen from a dandelion was ingested and it was suggested that “allergenic cross-reactivity between Compositae pollens” was the cause of the reaction. Compositae pollens is merely another word for the plant g roup that contains plants like ragweed, dandelions, goldenrod, sunflower, and mugwort, etc. The reports of anaphylaxis shock occurring happened in patients with a history of pollen allergies and in patients with no history of pollen allergies. A study done including 145 patients with atopy or proven to be hyper allergic usually showing signs of eczema, a dry skin condition, or hay fever, or allergic asthma and 57 healthy individuals showed that 73% of the individuals with atopy reacted positive to bee pollen (Jagdis & Sussman, 2012). ====

The water content of bee pollen is very important in determining its shelf like because if there is too much water, the pollen could be subject to microbial contamination such as molds, yeasts, and fungi which could produce mycotoxins and ochratoxins and be harmful to the consumer. If the water content is too low in bee pollen, discoloration and development of chemical reactions can occur and make the product smell bad and become rancid (Nogueira, Iglesias, Feás, & Estevinho, 2012). The ash content or inorganic matter of bee pollen is influenced by flower species, soil type, geographical origin, and capacity of a plant to accrue minerals. Again, improper cleaning and/or production of bee pollen can result in mineral impurities (Nogueira, Iglesias, Feás, & Estevinho, 2012). Protein, lipids, mainly the fatty acids esters, and high carbohydrate content are other important sources in bee pollen which may make it valued in the eyes of performance enhancing athletes.

A nutritional composition analysis was performed on twelve common varieties of monofloral bee pollens from china, that largest producer of bee pollen in the world. This analysis revealed that proline and glutamic acids were found to be the most abundant amino acids and that they were in the form of total and free amino acids (Yang, Wu, Ye, Liu, Chen & Sun, 2013). There are high levels of some beneficial elements to the body in bee pollen such as: K, CA, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu. This analysis was then announced that bee pollen was a good complement to the diet (Yang, Wu, Ye, Liu, Chen & Sun, 2013).



Pollen contains a three major protective outer layers that make digestion of these granules a bit difficult. These layers are the pollenkitt, containing neutral lipids, hydrocarbons, carotenoids, and terpenoids, the next layer is the exile, which is a matrix, and then inner most layer is the intine containing cellulose and pectin (Roulston & Cane, 1999). These coatings protect the inner cytoplasm holding all the beneficial enzymes. When the pollen comes into contact with digestive enzymes, the germination structures swell due to the uptake of water, and actions of the enzymes with in the pollen spore, creating a type of pseudo-germination, and releasing its contents (Roulston & Cane, 1999). Once released the nutrients can be taken up.

One concern with this, is that these beneficial enzymes with in pollen may be able to be broken down by digestive enzyme, potentially leading to no reaction when taking bee pollen.

Jagdis, A., & Sussman, G. (2012). Anaphylaxis from bee pollen supplement.//CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal//, //184//(10), 1167–1169. http://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.112181

Nogueira, C., Iglesias, A., Feás, X., & Estevinho, L. M. (2012). Commercial Bee Pollen with Different Geographical Origins: A Comprehensive Approach.//International Journal of Molecular Sciences//, //13//(9), 11173–11187. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijms130911173

Roulston, T. H., and J. H. Cane. "Pollen Nutritional Content and Digestibility for Animals." //Pl Syst Evol Plant Systematics and Evolution// 222.1-4 (2000): 187-209. Web.

Yang, K., Wu, D., Ye, X., Liu, D., Chen, J., & Sun, P. (2013). Characterization of Chemical Composition of Bee Pollen in China. //J. Agric. Food Chem. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,// //61//(3), 708-718. doi:10.1021/jf304056b