Graminex - Products containing Flower Pollen Extract - Opinion of Pollen Preparations Manufactured by AB Cernelle

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Opinion of Pollen Preparations Manufactured by AB Cernelle

by Lars-Erik Essen M. D.
Specialist in: Dermatological Diseases, Venereal Diseases, Internal Diseases

Address: Kullagatan 58, Halsingborg, Sweden

Pollen preparations containing Cernitin™

Some new types of pollen preparations have been introduced by AB Cernelle, Vegeholm, Sweden. These substances are based on Cernitin™, a microbiologically digested extract of raw pollen. In my opinion, these preparations are worthy of special interest since they have been found to offer possibilities of treating pathological conditions which, to date, have not been associated with, or constituted indications for, this type of substance. Some of these indications have been recognized as a result of recent research, which has led to the discovery of active substances in the different pollen fractions.

In private practice, caution must be exercised in drawing definite conclusions from the results of therapy with these preparations, as it is not possible to test them under isolated conditions and without other medication, since in each individual case they must be combined with some other suitable treatment. However, preliminary studies in my own practice have given me the undeniable impression that these substances, which were also employed against indications not previously recognized as being responsive to this therapy, proved to be satisfactory adjuvants in the treatment of a number of diseases, e.g.: ulcers diseases, certain forms of infections of the urinary tract, nonspecific urethritis, some types of headaches and, tentatively, even migraine. Further, they served as good general roborant agents both in asthenic and neurasthenic states, particularly during convalescence, and exhibited effects, which were frequently remarkable. In this connection, I wish to emphasize particularly that, in my opinion, these substances are highly valuable as tonics in geriatric praxis. I have been able to note a double psychosomatic effect in geriatric patients. Treatment with these substances was introduced in cases of mild senile dementia induced by arteriosclerosis, and in senile depression. I was able to confirm that, in parallel with an improved somatic state, there was a return - of mental powers such as the ability to orientate, to remember and to concentrate, and that in the course of time depressions were mitigated. These results led quite naturally to the thought that pollen preparations might possibly be indicated, at least as adjuvant, in the treatment of milder mental disturbances and psychoses since they might have a favorable effect on the cerebral metabolism at least insofar as a disturbed cerebral metabolism can be regarded as the etiological background of these conditions. On the basis of these indications, I am at present prescribing the preparations for this category of patients. The experiments appear to be giving satisfactory results although the duration of treatment is still too short to permit any definite conclusions. When time permits, I shall provide a report on these experiments but I would like to mention them in passing as they might offer a stimulus to others to investigate further. Another point, which I find especially noteworthy, is the prophylactic properties shown by these substances in infections, both bacterial and virus, and their action here being to boost the general resistance of the organism. Further, there appears to be a mitigating effect on infections, which have already passed their peak. Thus, patients showing a marked tendency to relapse in different types of infectious diseases have noted that, after a period of regular therapy with pollen preparations of the type referred to here, this tendency frequently becomes less emphatic and, in some cases, even disappears completely. It has been stated that the preparations are valuable in the treatment of prostatitis and hepatitis. However, I have not yet had an opportunity of verifying this in my own practice.

In my capacity as dermatologist, I have found these substances to be of value for topical treatment in cosmetic dermatological praxis. Suppressive effects in facial acne and previously confirmed effects in healing and the treatment of burns are of interest, but until I have been able to follow up therapy on an extensive scale, I cannot permit myself to pass judgment.

Obviously, the material upon which these preliminary observations are based is not sufficiently large to permit definite conclusions but, on the other hand, some of the results are so noteworthy and emphatic that they encourage continued and more extensive research.

The initiative taken by AB Cernelle in introducing these pollen preparations and the associated research performed by this company is, in my opinion, particularly important at a time when the pharmaceutical industry is devoted almost entirely to the production of synthetic drugs. Far-sighted scientists are agreed that this single-mindedness can, in the long run, lead to catastrophic results in human immunobiology, and they are also deeply concerned about the present wide-spread misuse in suppressing or substituting, on almost every occasion, the natural protective and defense reactions of the body. Our lack of knowledge in this field, and our short sightedness, frequently leads us to be stupidly generous in handling the enormous arsenal of antibiotics and chemotherapeutics at present at our disposal. In the face of this situation, every attempt to revert to more "natural" and biologically attuned preparations must be welcomed. From this point of view, it is particularly satisfying to be able to acknowledge the research and the introduction of more biologically related substances presented by AB Cernelle.

Halsingborg, 30th June, 1959

LARS-ERIK ESSEN, M.D.