Rye Grass Pollen Extract

Topic Overview

What is rye grass pollen extract?

Rye grass pollen extract comes from the pollen of rye grass (Secale cereale).

Rye grass pollen extract may affect the male hormone testosterone, relax the muscles of the tube through which urine flows (urethra), and improve how well the bladder can force urine out. All of these may reduce symptoms of an enlarged prostate, such as dribbling after urinating or having to get up several times at night to urinate.

What is rye grass pollen extract used for?

People use rye grass pollen extract to relieve the symptoms of noncancerous enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH). Some research reports that men who use rye grass pollen extracts say their symptoms have improved and that they get up fewer times at night to urinate.¹ But there is very little research on this.

Is rye grass pollen extract safe?

Researchers have not evaluated rye grass pollen extract for long-term effectiveness, safety, or its ability to prevent complications of BPH.

Men who have problems urinating should see a doctor to rule out prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is treatable, but treatment may be more successful when you find and treat the cancer as early as possible.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate dietary supplements in the same way it regulates medication. A dietary supplement can be sold with limited or no research on how well it works.

Always tell your doctor if you are using a dietary supplement or if you are thinking about combining a dietary supplement with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on a dietary supplement. This is especially important for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

When using dietary supplements, keep in mind the following:

• Like conventional medicines, dietary supplements may cause side effects, trigger allergic reactions, or interact with prescription and nonprescription medicines or other supplements you might be taking. A side effect or interaction with another medicine or supplement may make other health conditions worse.
• Dietary supplements may not be standardized in their manufacturing. This means that how well they work or any side effects they cause may differ among brands or even within different lots of the same brand. The form you buy in health food or grocery stores may not be the same as the form used in research.
• The long-term effects of most dietary supplements, other than vitamins and minerals, are not known. Many dietary supplements are not used long-term.

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Author:	Jeannette Curtis	Last Updated: June 27, 2007
Medical Review:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Marc S. Micozzi, MD, PhD - Policy Institute for Integrative Medicine
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