![]() Structural similarities, Cross-reactivity, between pollen from wind- and insect-pollinated plants render such distinctions moot making the latter capable of triggering allergy episodes in some allergic people.Wind-pollinated trees serve as major sources of pollen for honeybees in early spring for instance, a time when insect-pollinated plants aren't a major source of pollen ( 4). Pollinating mechanisms are obviously far more porous in practice than imagined in theory.However, bee pollen sources are actually far more diverse and they contain pollen from wind-pollinated plants such as ash, oak, willow and poplar, often the source of allergens for those with allergic rhinitis (3). Marketing bee pollen as health foods relies on a misconception that they contain pollen from only less allergenic insect-pollinated plants. Plants can be pollinated by wind, Anemophily, insects, Entomophily or animals (both invertebrate and vertebrate), Zoophily.Īirborne pollen from wind-pollinated plants such as grasses (ragweed, mugwort, etc.) are a major source of respiratory allergies. In 1977, the Chicago Tribune and the United Airlines Mainliner magazine published reports touting bee pollen health benefits ( 2). Beekeepers collect and sell these granules as health foods using screens at hive entrances to force them out of the pollen sacs when bees reenter hives.Īccording to one study, bee pollen gained popularity as a health food after Finnish marathon runners credited it with their successful performances in the 1972 Munich Olympics (1). Bees accumulate a wide variety of pollen as granules, bee pollen, in pollen sacs on their hind legs as they flit from flower to flower sipping their nectar.
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