Exploring the Applications and Benefits in the Different Preparations of Pine Pollen

The Differences between—and the different applications of—RAW Pine Pollen™, Pine Pollen Extract Powder, and Pine Pollen Tincture

Become Acquainted With Pine Pollen

For many of our customers, Pine Pollen is their first introduction into using herbal medicine and into the concepts and practice of Classical and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

And for those well acquainted in alternative medicine, the Phyto-Therapeutic use of Pine Pollen may still be novel, as the introduction of Pine Pollen into the US and other Western Countries is relatively new.

• A Prebiotic Functional Food for Restorative Nutrition
• Phyto-Androgenic and Pro-androgenic
• Nootropic for Promoting Brain Health
• Phyto-Therapeutic That Is Adaptogenic & Tonic

RAW Pine Pollen™, Pine Pollen Powder, and Pine Pollen all refer to the same product—the pollen collected from the Pinus massoniana pine tree.

This specific species of pine tree is important (as opposed to Scotts or White Pine), as it is the only scientifically studied species for use as a food, an adaptogen, an androgenic herb, and studied for safety. Mountain Harvest Pine Pollen™ is strictly collected from the Pinus massoniana species of pine tree.

Mountain Harvest Pine Pollen is extremely high in nutrition, is pro-longevity (anti-aging) compounds, has adaptogenic qualities (regulating the endocrine system and the stress response), and contains important Phyto-Androgenic plant hormones, including naturally occurring testosterone.

Pine Pollen has two main applications—two main uses:

• Pine Pollen as a functional food and as an adaptogenic tonic.

• Pine Pollen for supplementing with Phyto-Androgenic plant sterols (the plant analogues of the male sex hormones, such as testosterone).

While the use of Pine Pollen for supplementing with Phyo-Androgens may receive the majority of interest and attention, it is actually the first use of Pine Pollen that offers the widest array of benefits.

The benefits of Pine Pollen—the different applications of it—depend on the form. Each of the three forms offers different advantages.

Pine Pollen is available in three main forms of preparation:

• RAW Pine Pollen™ — Including RAW Pine Pollen™Powder, RAW Pine Pollen™Capsules, and RAW Pine Pollen™Tablets.

• Pine Pollen Tincture — Including pure Royal Pine Pollen Tincture and tincture formulas that contain Pine Pollen.

• Pine Pollen Extract Powder — Including Pine Pollen Extract Powder and Pine Pollen Extract Capsules.

Therapeutically, it matters very little if RAW Pine Pollen™is consumed as a powder, capsule, or tablet, but the difference between RAW Pine Pollen™and Pine Pollen Tincture does matter. When discussing the different preparations of each, the above (RAW Pine Pollen, Pine Pollen Extract Powder, and Pine Pollen Tincture) will be used as shorthand to refer to the different products that contain each type of preparation.

A Brief Introduction Into the Different Uses and Benefits of Pine Pollen

RAW Pine Pollen™—As a powder and in capsules and tablets

Best used as a functional (foundational) food, repairing possible nutrient deficiencies and allowing the body to heal within. Contains living amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and coenzymes.

Adaptogenic and tonic to support the endocrine (honrone) system and adjusting the body’s stress response.

Pro-Longevity: Pine Pollen has been used as a longevity tonic, promoting healthy (anti) aging.

Supporting ancestral microbiome heath by providing important prebiotic fiber, feeding healthy gut bacteria (probiotics).

• Use in the morning and afternoons, ideally on an empty stomach, to build health over the long term.

Pine Pollen Tinctures—Including pure Royal Pine Pollen and Pine Pollen Formulas

Best used for those people primarily interested in Pine Pollen as a Pro-Androgenic or Phyto-Androgenic herb.

Use as a supplement (as an adjunct therapy) to RAW Pine Pollen™for those with low testosterone levels and for those wanting to elevate testosterone levels.

Tinctures extract the phyto-therapeutic chemicals of the herbs and dissolve them into alcohol. This allows rapid absorption by the body.

Additionally, Pine Pollen Tincture is best for those with impaired digestive function, as tincture bypasses the regular digestive tract.

• Testosterone production peaks in men in the early morning. Use Pine Pollen Tincture first thing upon waking to mimic this peak.
• May be used whenever an additional peak is desired, such as before a workout.

Pine Pollen Extract Powder—In powders, capsules, and integrative formulas

Best used for those seeking Pine Pollen as an adaptogen and longevity tonic but for those not concerned with the living nutrients present in RAW Pine Pollen™.

High extraction (50:1) provides a potent concentration of the phyto-therapeutic compounds present in Pine Pollen which may help balance endocrine (hormone) function.

Use as a longevity tonic.

The extraction process breaks down the RAW Pine Pollen, which allows for easier digestion and greater potency, at the cost of breaking down the amino acids, enzymes, and coenzymes.

• Use twice daily, preferably on an empty stomach, although timing is less important than with Pine Pollen Tincture.
• Adaptogens may take 4-6 weeks of use to fully work.

In-Depth: The Uses and Applications of RAW Pine Pollen

With over ten+ years of experience working with Pine Pollen, RAW Pine Pollen™remains our favorite and is where we recommend almost everyone begin their journey into Pine Pollen.

The reason for this is simple, RAW Pine Pollen™offers the greatest foundational framework for restoring vitality and wellness, providing the necessary building blocks to allow the body to heal.

RAW Pine Pollen™: The Overview

The benefit of using RAW Pine Pollen™over any other form is that the integrity of every compound in it remains intact—as nature designed and as nature intended—including a full spectrum of amino acids (along with pro-longevity, anti-aging amino acids).

Here, because the Pine Pollen remains in its raw, living state, these amino acids are intact—not denatured and broken down, as what happens when amino acids (and all proteins) are heated.

As proteins, the enzymes and co-enzymes present in Pine Pollen remain untouched—alive and beneficial. Additionally, and just as with the living amino acids, enzymes, and other proteins, the plethora of living vitamins, minerals, and other cofactors have not been reduced by heat. In all, RAW Pine Pollen™contains over 200+ beneficial, known compounds.

In short, the benefit of RAW Pine Pollen™is that it remains a strong living food—a living plant medicine.

RAW Pine Pollen: Target Benefits

For Regenerative Nutrition

RAW Pine Pollen™contains all essential amino acids, naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, and other macro and micro nutrients.

RAW Pine Pollen™provides an unrivaled nutritional framework unlike anything we've seen at RAW Forest Foods. So much so that it is now our understanding that the vast majority of benefits awarded by Pine Pollen—including its effects on testosterone levels—are due to correcting nutritional imbalances and not as a result of the naturally occurring Phyto-Androgens present in it.

As an Adaptogenic and Tonic Herb

RAW Pine Pollen™ supports healthy endocrine and immune function with specific adaptogenic compounds and Phyto-Androgens.

Complementary to the raw nutritional value of Pine Pollen, the Pro-Longevity properties of it (which some refer to as anti-aging), Pine Pollen is Adaptogenic and Tonic, meaning that it may help support healthy endocrine (hormone) function and production and it may help support healthy immune function.

To Promote and Improve Digestion

RAW Pine Pollen™aids in healthy digestion and elimination, while supporting intestinal microbiota/probiotics (the microbiome).

As a RAW, living food, RAW Pine Pollen™containing vital enzymes and coenzymes, which promote metabolism and improved digestion. This supports both nutrient intake and proper detoxification. Additionally, the unique fiber present in Pine Pollen is what is known as a prebiotic, feeding the beneficial microbes present in the gut—the intestine.

RAW Pine Pollen: The Source

At RAW Forest Foods, our entire collection of Pine Pollen is all Single Origin, meaning that each and every year, our Pine Pollen is wild-harvested from the same remote forest by the same remote wild-harvesters. It's a true labor of love.

This is Peak Potency Pine Pollen, collected within a three day period once a year, and only from the researched backed and scientifically vetted Pinus massoniana Pine Tree. Source matters, and just as with all of our products, we're driven by a love of plants and a love of herbal medicine at RAW Forest Foods, which is why we put so much pride into our Pine Pollen.

RAW Pine Pollen: Product Availability

Products containing pure RAW Pine Pollen™ Powder and those integrating RAW Pine Pollen™ into master formulations:

• RAW Pine Pollen Capsules
• RAW Pine Pollen Tablets
• RAW Pine Pollen Powder—70 Grams
• RAW Pine Pollen Powder—500 Grams
• Elevated Pine Pollen and Nettle Root Extract Powder
• Pine Pollen and Lion's Mane Extract Capsules 

In-Depth: The Uses and Applications of Pine Pollen Tincture

The benefit of using Pine Pollen Tincture is that it is easy to take and the phyto-hormones are quickly and readily absorbed and utilized through the bloodstream and by the body. Tinctures are also a highly stable form of plant extracts, and will store in glass indefinitely. Use of Pine Pollen Tincture has been shown through laboratory testing to elevate levels of free testosterone (the biologically active form of the hormone). This makes it an important herb for those suffering from low levels of testosterone and other androgen hormones.

However, with the benefits outlined, there is one caveat: tinctures inherently target some aspects of medicinal plants, while leaving many others behind. In the case of Pine Pollen, the difference is profound. While Pine Pollen Tincture does include high levels of testosterone, it leaves behind the nutrition of the pollen which makes it such an important anti-aging food. It is impossible to tincture the living longevity amino acids, the high levels of living amino acids, the enzymes and coenzymes, and the 200+ nutrients and medicinal compounds found in RAW Pine Pollen™ Powder. For this reason, I always recommend Pine Pollen Tincture be taken alongside either the RAW Pine Pollen™ Powder, or the Pine Pollen Powdered Extract.

Pine Pollen Tincture: The Overview

Much of the motivation for starting RAW Forest Foods came with the strong effects of using Pine Pollen Tincture combined with RAW Pine Pollen. Pine Pollen Tincture contains a high, isolated dose of androgen hormones, including testosterone and DHEA. Men and women alike show dangerously low levels of testosterone when compared to samples taken of the population between 50-60 years ago.

Fertility is down among men and women, and cancers linked to high levels of estrogen are on the rise. Many researchers and medical professionals link these fertility issues and growing cancer rates to low levels of testosterone and high levels of estrogen. Pine Pollen Tincture, being high in all the androgen hormones, including testosterone, helps to elevate and optimize levels of testosterone, which is highly beneficial in many areas of life--from obesity and diabetes, to bone health, to sexual health in both men and women.

A tincture is simply an alcohol--ethanol, drinking alcohol--extract of a plant (or other medicinal organism). In this process, the plant is combined with alcohol and allowed to sit while the full extraction takes place. Once the extraction is done, the mixture of alcohol and plant is pressed, leaving behind the alcohol, which is now an extract, and the spent and extracted plant materials. Making tinctures is an old process, traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine. In fact, in the New England area of the US, 400 year old tinctures have been found which are still as biologically active as freshly made tinctures.

Tinctures are graded on their extraction ratio, which is the amount of plant material compared to the amount of alcohol. Most tinctures are a 1:4 or a 1:5 extraction ratio, meaning that 1 part of plant material is combined with either 4 or 5 parts of alcohol. RAW Forest Foods only sells professional 1:2 tincture extracts, which means that for every 2 parts of tincture, you get 1 part of the original plant. 1:4 or 1:5 extractions means that for every 4 or 5 parts of tincture, you get 1 part of the original plant.

Pine Pollen Tincture: Target Benefits

Pro and Phyto-Androgenic for Providing Endocrine and Hormone Support

Tinctures are unique alcohol solutions which provide for quick uptake of the naturally occurring phyto-sterols (plant steroids) present in Pine Pollen, analogues of the male sex hormones, including testosterone.

Complements RAW Pine Pollen as an Adjunct for Holistic Hormone Support

Pine Pollen Tincture: The Source

Tincturing Pine Pollen is a complex process. In fact, in our vast experience in tincturing medicinal plants and mushrooms, no other herb even comes close in difficulty. The reason for this is simple, in its pure state, RAW Pine Pollen™is immensely fine and is incredibly absorbent. After a tincture is done extracting, the original solid compounds—the herbs, and technically known as the marc—must be filtered, leaving only the liquid in which the plant was extracted.

When the herb you are extracting is as fine and absorbent as Pine Pollen, this part of the process becomes challenging.

Unlike others, we use only the pollen when tincturing Pine Pollen, because that is where the Phyto-Androgens are. Others tincture the entire part of the pine tree which contains the pollen (botanically known as the catkin). While this makes tincturing incredibly easy, it is a deceitful process and the result is a Pine Pollen Tincture which contains very little of what the label states.

We use only RAW Pine Pollen™when tincturing Pine Pollen. The same RAW Pine Pollen™that is the foundation of all of our products: Mountain Harvest Pine Pollen. Read more about our source above.

Pine Pollen Tinctures: Product Availability

Products containing Pine Pollen Tincture, including our pure Royal Pine Pollen Tincture and tinctures integrating Pine Pollen formulated alongside additional adaptogenic, Pro-Androgenic, and other Phyto-Therapeutic herbs:

• Elevated Pine Pollen and Nettle Root Tincture—available in 2 ounce and 4 ounce bottles 
• Eros Arrow Aphrodisiac Elixir Tincture
• Pine Pollen Alchemy Tincture—available in 2 ounce and 4 ounce bottles 
• Royal Pine Pollen Tincture—available in 2 ounce and 4 ounce bottles

In-Depth: The Uses and Applications of Pine Pollen Extract Powder

The benefits of our Pine Pollen Powder Extract are that the original compounds of the RAW Pine Pollen™Powder are reserved, along with the androgen hormones, but the extraction ratio—the amount of those compounds—are extremely high: 20 times the amount found in the Tincture, and 10 times the amount found in the RAW powder.

Aside from the high potency of powdered extracts, they also retain the full profile of the original plant, so all aspects of the medicinal qualities are available in the final product. Powdered extracts dissolve immediately in warm water, making a pleasant herbal tea. Powdered extracts have a very long shelf life. As you can see, there are many benefits of using powdered extracts. It is my preferred method to take all herbs, and I highly recommend this method to others.

Pine Pollen Extract Powder: The Overview

Powdered extracts are a popular way to prepare and use herbs in China. Traditionally, powdered extracts came from Japan and spread to Taiwan, but because of their many benefits over using whole herbs, their use has spread throughout China, and is continuing to spread throughout the world, particularly in the West. Powdered extracts are for many the most foreign and misunderstood method of preparing and taking herbs. This is simply because it is such a new method in the US and the West. Powdered extracts are by far my favorite way to use herbs.

The process of manufacturing powdered extracts is straightforward, but requires highly advanced and specialized equipment. A high level of quality assurance is also needed, from analyzing each batch of herbs for contamination and heavy metals and also testing to ensure the correct plant species and variety is being used. After quality assurance is done, the bulk herbs are combined with water, similar to making a water solution of herbs at home. This water extract is then reduced in large vats over low heat until the desired concentration is obtained. For some powdered extracts, a standardized extract is performed, where a certain level of an active compound of the plant is targeted. The liquid is then blown into what resembles a large dryer, where the liquid quickly dries, and is powdered. The three main benefits of using powdered extracts are the long shelf life of the extract, the way that the entire plant is uniquely extracted, retaining all original compounds (unlike tincture extracts), and the high extraction ratio.

The high extraction ratio makes powdered extracts a very important form of plant medicine. The very best tinctures offer a 2:1 extraction ratio (like our Pine Pollen Tincture). This means that 2 parts of a plant goes into 1 part of extract. However, powdered extracts offer a much more potent extract, where the ratio is actually flipped. In powdered extracts it is common to see a 5:1 extract or a 10:1 extract. This means that either 5 or 10 parts of the plant goes into producing just 1 part of extract. In a 10:1 extract, like our Pine Pollen Powder Extract, for every 1 part of extract, you actually receive 10 times that amount of original plant material. If you take 1 teaspoon of extract, it is the equivalent of taking 10 teaspoons of the original plant.

Pine PollenExtract Powder: Target Benefits

The use of Pine Pollen Extract Powder is exceptionally similar to use the of RAW Pine Pollen™, the difference being that the extract is more concentrated (greatly so), but is no longer a living food, as the extraction process is done using heat. 

Endocrine System Support

Adaptogenic and Tonic

Pine Pollen Extract Powder: The Source

The Pine Pollen in each and every single product in our collection of Mountain Harvest Pine Pollen all begins as the same Single Origin RAW Pine Pollen™ Powder. Read more about our source above.

Pine Pollen Extract Powder: Product Availability

Products containing pure Pine Pollen Extract Powder and expert formulations integrating Pine Pollen Extract Powder alongside important tonic and Phyto-Therapeutic adaptogenic and Pro-Androgenic herbs:

• Pine Pollen Extract Powder
• Pine Pollen Extract Capsules
• Elevated Pine Pollen and Nettle Root Extract Powder
• Elevated Pine Pollen and Nettle Root Extract Capsules
• Pine Pollen and Lion's Mane Extract Capsules