• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.147-149
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• 1984

To examine pollen preparations which are being sold as a health food, one of these pollen tablets and one of the capsules were selected and investigated by microscopy. It was shown that the pollen coat which can act as a potent allergen was not removed and that the tablets contained other impurities. The results suggest that they are not safe as a food and that they may cause systemic allergy to certain persons. On the contrary, the pollens of the capsule preparation did not have the pollen coat and, therefore, have a less risk of causing allergy.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1988

Pollens and their preparations that are being sold as a health food in Korea were examined for. morphology and identity. The Iimall packages of sixteen items of the pollen foods were selected and investigated by staining and microscopy. It was shown that all fifteen items except one contained intact pollens which retain their sporoderms. On the basis of their morphological characteristics, they were identified as the pollens of the plants which belong to ten families: Betulaceae, Compositae, Cornaceae, Cgperaceae, Fagaceae, Geraniaceae, Graminae, LeguminoBae, Liliaceae and Pinaceae. Since the sporoderms which can act as a potent allergen to certain persons were not removed, these pollen. foods can not be safe as a food and. may cause systemic allergy. The only preparation that did not show its sporoderm is less likely to cause allergy than the others.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.651-656
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• 2016

Bee pollen is produced by honeybees and is considered one of the most balanced and nourishing nutritional supplements available. Historically, bee pollen has been prescribed for its healing properties and consumed for its high-energy supply. Recent research has provided evidence that bee pollen has diverse biological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and even anti-cancer effects. However, the outer membrane of the pollen grain, exine, is highly resistant to most acidic solutions, high pressure, and even digestive enzymes, and the resulting low bioavailability limits its nutritional and clinical applications. This study applied a wet-grinding method to destroy the exine effectively, and it then examined the pollen's enhanced biological activity. First, microscopic observations provided strong evidence that wet grinding destroyed the exine time-dependently. In addition, the content of polyphenols, well-known ingredients of bee pollen and used as internal standards for the quality control of commercial pollen preparations, increased up to 11-fold with wet grinding. Further, the anti-oxidant activity demonstrated on the ABTS anti-oxidant assay, as well as the DPPH radical scavenging assay, was also dramatically increased. Together, the results presented here support a new technology by which bee pollen can be used as a resource for medical, nutritional, and cosmetic applications.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.255-261
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• 2005

Gami-Samhwang-San, a herbal prescription for obesity treatment, is composed of seven crude herbs such as Rehmanniae Radix Preparata, Ephedrae Herba, Scutellariae Radix, Acori Gramineri Rhizoma, Polygalae Radix, Typhae Pollen, Armeniacae Semen, Menthae Herba. In this study, marker substances in n-butanol fraction (SH-21-B) from Gami-Samhwang-San were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and acute toxicity of standardized SH-21-B was evaluated by good laboratory practices (GLP) guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration. Therefore we confirmed that there were baicalin of 15.92%, amygdalin of 6.57% and ephedrine of 2.49% in SH-21-B. SH-21-B was administered in rats at dose of 0 mg/kg, 2,000 mg/kg, and 5,000mg/kg. Clinical signs of both sexes of rats were observed daily for 14 days after single oral administration. Two female rats one administered at 2,000 mg/kg and the other administered at 5,000 mg/kg, died, but no dead animal was observed among male rats. Therefore $LD_{50}$ in the female rat is observed to be 8,710 mg/kg, and MLD (Minimun Lethal Dose) of the male rat is observed to be more than 5,000 mg/kg.