Pollen Extract for Hot Flashes: What the 65% Claim Means

The 65% figure from the 2005 pollen-extract trial¹ was a response rate.¹

The early trial counted improvement in two ways

The 2005 Femal study¹ randomized 64 women; 54 completed it. After a one-month untreated observation period, treatment lasted three months, using two tablets each morning or matching placebo.¹

On a symptom-rating response analysis, 65% taking Femal improved to some extent, versus 38% taking placebo. Separately, hot-flash diaries showed an approximately 27% decline from baseline in the active group at three months. The between-group diary comparison favored treatment.¹

These measures cannot be substituted for each other. “Some improvement” includes changes smaller than halving the number of flashes. The study excluded women with known allergy or a history of cancer, limiting what it can establish for those groups. Natumin Pharma supplied the active and placebo tablets.¹

The breast-cancer trial mostly reported changes within each group

The 2024 Italian trial² randomized 39 breast-cancer survivors, 19 to PureCyTonin and 20 to placebo, for three months. Thirty completed follow-up. Many were taking endocrine therapy.²

Weekly mean hot-flash counts changed from 45.6 to 28.6 with treatment, and 49.9 to 41 with placebo. The reported significance tests compared each group’s follow-up with its own starting value. The active group’s change was statistically significant; placebo’s was not.²

That difference in significance does not establish a significant difference between groups. Although the paper concludes that treatment beat placebo, its reported diary analysis does not supply a direct test of that claim. This small, short study also cannot establish long-term cancer-recurrence safety. One participant stopped active treatment after leg pain. Serelys Pharma sponsored the study.²

The review’s controlled analysis was less favorable

The 2024 systematic review included five articles and 420 participants, comprising one randomized trial and four observational studies. Combining before-and-after measurements suggested improvements in hot flashes and several other symptoms.³

But when the reviewers pooled controlled comparisons, the outcomes were no longer statistically significant. Their conclusion cautioned that improvements in uncontrolled studies might reflect placebo effects. The original abstract does not support presenting the favorable before-and-after estimate as proven superiority over placebo.³

Published in January 2024, that review predates the separate breast-cancer trial and the 2026 paper⁴ below. Those later studies need their own assessment.²³⁴

The 2026 study combined pollen with several vitamins

The August 2026 retrospective study⁴ included 45 women: 22 chose the supplement, while 23 declined treatment. The formulation combined pollen extract with vitamins D3, K2, E and B6. After three months, several menopause-related quality-of-life domains favored the treated group.⁴

Treatment choice was not randomized, and there was no matching placebo. The study therefore cannot separate pollen’s effect from the other ingredients, treatment expectations or differences between women who chose and declined supplementation. Its bone-turnover measurements also do not establish fracture prevention. Shionogi supported the publication process.⁴

A further 120-participant pollen-extract trial, NCT06889753, is registered. Its latest posted update, July 8, 2026, listed recruitment and an estimated enrollment; no results were posted when checked for this article. A target enrollment is not a completed experiment.⁵

What to take to an appointment

Bring the exact product label and ask which trial tested that preparation. Note whether a quoted percentage describes people improving, flashes counted or a questionnaire score. Keep counts and symptom bother separate when recording your own experience.

Chapter 5’s “The Supplement Shelf” and “Try It” in My Body Changed. Now What? explain why a symptom diary and one change at a time make an assessment easier to interpret.

The US Menopause Society’s 2023 statement did not recommend supplements or herbal remedies for hot flashes. It recommended several alternatives, including menopause-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical hypnosis and selected prescription medicines. That statement predates the newer pollen papers; those papers’ design limits remain relevant when discussing whether the evidence has changed.⁶

Our nonhormonal hot-flash guide compares treatment categories. If you have had breast cancer, include your oncology team in the choice and bring your current medicine list. A supplement’s hormone-free description does not answer the separate questions of symptom benefit, interactions and long-term safety.