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Review, 2020

Does pollen extract help with menopausal symptoms and premenstrual syndrome?

A review found that pollen extract safely reduced menopausal symptoms and PMS without providing estrogen, working like certain antidepressants. However, this is a summary of other studies, not new research.

Early or limited evidence Women with menopausal symptoms or premenstrual syndrome in the reviewed studies

What they did

Review of existing studies on purified pollen extract (PureCyTonin) and its effects on menopausal symptoms and premenstrual syndrome.

What they found

Reviewed studies showed pollen extract helped with menopausal symptoms like hot flushes and with PMS. It worked similarly to SSRI antidepressants but without estrogen effects in the body.

What it means for you

Pollen extract might be an option for women who cannot take hormones. However, this is a summary of other research, not new findings from a single study.

About the study

Original title
Purified and specific cytoplasmic pollen extract: a non-hormonal alternative for the treatment of menopausal symptoms
Authors
Genazzani A, Panay N, Simoncini T et al.
Journal
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology
Year
2020
Study design
Review
What was tested
Purified and specific cytoplasmic pollen extract
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Research into non-hormonal, alternative therapies is necessary for women for whom menopausal hormone therapy is contraindicated or for women who do not wish to take hormones. This review focuses on one such non-hormonal option, namely, purified and specific cytoplasmic pollen extract, or PureCyTonin ® . This extract has been evaluated in several preclinical and clinical studies, where it demonstrated its value as a safe and non-estrogenic alternative for menopause. This review presents the beneficial effects of PureCyTonin ® in the treatment of menopausal symptoms (e.g. hot flushes) in healthy women, as well as in premenstrual syndrome. We discuss the mechanism of action of PureCyTonin ® , an SSRI-'like' therapy. The lack of estrogenic effect demonstrated in preclinical studies suggests that PureCyTonin ® may also be a suitable option for the management of menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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