Editing Pollen (section)

===In humans===
[[Bee pollen]] for human consumption is marketed as a [[food]] ingredient and as a [[dietary supplement]]. The largest constituent is [[carbohydrate]]s, with protein content ranging from 7 to 35 percent depending on the plant species collected by bees.<ref>Sanford, Malcolm T. {{cite web |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |title=Producing Pollen |date=17 May 2006 |access-date=2015-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113100544/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |archive-date=January 13, 2007}}, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; citing P. Witherell, "Other Products of the Hive," Chapter XVIII, ''The Hive and the Honey Bee'', Dadant & Sons, Inc., Hamilton, IL, 1975.</ref>

[[Honey]] produced by bees from natural sources contains pollen derived [[p-coumaric acid]],<ref name=Berenbaum>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mao W, Schuler MA, Berenbaum MR |title=Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=22 |pages=8842–6 |date=May 2013 |pmid=23630255 |pmc=3670375 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1303884110 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.8842M |doi-access=free}}</ref> an [[antioxidant]] and natural [[bactericide]] that is also present in a wide variety of plants and plant-derived food products.<ref name=Xaixiang>{{cite journal |first1=Zaixiang |last1=Lou|first2=Hongxin |last2=Wang |first3=Shengqi |last3=Rao |first4=Juntao |last4=Sun |first5=Chaoyang |last5=Ma |first6=Jing |last6=Li |journal=Food Control|volume=25 |issue=2 |date=2012|pages=550–554 |title=''p''-Coumaric acid kills bacteria through dual damage mechanisms |doi=10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.11.022}}</ref>

The [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) has not found any harmful effects of bee pollen consumption, except for the usual allergies. However, FDA does not allow bee pollen marketers in the United States to make health claims about their produce, as no scientific basis for these has ever been proven. Furthermore, there are possible dangers not only from allergic reactions but also from contaminants such as pesticides<ref name="Tosi-2018" /> and from fungi and bacteria growth related to poor storage procedures. A manufacturers's claim that pollen collecting helps the bee colonies is also controversial.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |access-date=2007-08-30 |title=Producing Pollen |last=Sanford |first=Malcolm T. |publisher=University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010429230017/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |archive-date=2001-04-29}} Document ENY118. Original publication date November 1, 1994. Revised February 1, 1995. Reviewed May 1, 2003.</ref>

Pine pollen ({{Korean|hangul=송화가루|rr=Songhwa Garu|labels=no}}) is traditionally consumed in Korea as an ingredient in sweets and beverages.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://aarongilbreath.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/ginseng-pine-pollen-and-honey-five-korean-teas-and-where-to-drink-them-in-seoul/|title=Source|newspaper=Aarongilbreath's Blog|date=2013-05-31}}</ref> [[Māori people|Māori]] of precolonial New Zealand would gather pollen of ''[[Typha orientalis]]'' to make a special bread called ''pungapunga''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neill |first1=Lindsay |last2=Sturny |first2=Arno |title=Pāraoa Rēwena: The Relegation of Aotearoa New Zealand's Indigenous Bread |journal=Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies |date=Aug 2022 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=65 |doi=10.11157/sites-id505}}</ref>