Banyan Botanicals’ Pollen Protect™ is an herbal formulation tablet with ten key herbal ingredients targeted at supporting respiratory system functions and providing relief for common seasonal irritants.

As important as pollen is for our ecosystems, it can be a great source of irritation, if not outright distress, for many people. Occasional itchy or watery eyes, sneezing, and congestion are just a few signs of the respiratory tract under duress.

The body normally and naturally responds to irritants with a healthy inflammatory response. In short, this response is the body’s first defense mechanism against pathogens. However, the body can be indiscriminate when it comes to foreign invaders, and pollen is treated like any other microorganism—as a threat. This is relatively common and occurs at some point in most people. Dietary supplementation through herbs can help support a healthy respiratory system and also help to moderate a healthy inflammatory response to common seasonal irritants.

The Formula

Pollen Protect is an herbal compound formulated with herbs known to support a healthy inflammatory response, soothe the respiratory system, and support normal breathing.

Several of these herbs are known for their cooling and soothing qualities. One of the mechanisms of the inflammatory response is elevated pitta, or heat in the body. The congestion that arises is an increase in the body’s kapha, or water and earth element. This is a natural reaction to remove everyday irritants that our respiratory tract encounters. [Included in formula are herbs to warm] the circulatory system and respiratory tract, providing a soothing and nourishing quality [and herbs to] harmonize the whole formula and balance any excess vata or kapha.

The Study

Pollen Protect recently underwent a small pilot study of seventeen participants who were challenged with moderately disturbing occasional seasonal discomfort. They were given a one-month supply of Pollen Protect tablets (3 tablets twice daily for 30 days). The participants were asked to take a 28-question validated questionnaire enumerating the challenges one may experience with common seasonal irritants. Participants took this questionnaire on day 1, before taking Pollen Protect tablets; on day 30, they answered the same questions again and their scores were then compared.

Statistically, we used a normality test to determine whether our sample size of seventeen participants is truly representative of the general population who face trouble with occasional seasonal discomfort. Our data set passed this test and was indeed statistically representative of this population (alpha= 0.05).

Participants generally reported that their seasonal discomfort challenges went on average from being “moderately troubled” to “hardly troubled at all” or “not troubled.”

When looking at the individual data domains, we were further reassured. The 28 questions were grouped into seven domains or categories of challenges. These categories represented the general effect seasonal difficulties had on daily activities, sleep, non-nose/eye challenges, practical problems, nasal challenges, eye challenges, and emotional state. All domains showed a significant change and decrease in difficulty with seasonal irritants.

Question Specifics

In addition to evaluating the questionnaire per each domain, we also performed the same tests on each question (1–28) to make sure that the results obtained were statistically significant in decreasing the occasional challenges of seasonal discomfort after taking Pollen Protect. There was significant decrease in symptoms for each question.

Final Thoughts

While this study was truly a pilot study in that it was not placebo-controlled and had a small sample size of seventeen participants, we feel that the results were revealing in demonstrating the potential for Pollen Protect to support the respiratory system and a healthy inflammatory response due to seasonal irritants.

Throughout the study, all participants were carefully monitored for any adverse events; no adverse events or side effects were reported by the participants while taking the supplement tablets during the study period. There were three out of twenty participants who dropped from the study due to the severity of their challenges at the time. They opted to resume their routine regimen that involved various over-the-counter products.

This is a great and promising first step in our research for Pollen Protect and we plan to use the information to design a larger, controlled study.