I always enjoy telling this story because it was one of the starting points for everything happening at Adaptonics today. No marketing plan, no market analysis—just a walk through the pine forest on Tenerife and a question that has never let go of me since.
However, the most accurate account of this first encounter does not come from me, but from Dr. med. Fritz Helmut Hemmerich, who examined the pine trees and their pollen more closely with me from the very beginning. That is why I am reproducing his account here as he told it himself:
"This was about eleven years ago: I came to this island, walked through the forest, and was amazed. I come from a wine-growing region where a lot of sulfur is used, and I thought: Who is spraying sulfur here in the forest? Where does all this yellow powder come from? Are these pesticides? So I approached this yellow powder—and was amazed to discover where it came from. It comes from the trees themselves, from the pine trees, and in huge quantities.
What a diversity of fertilizing activity this pine tree, which is already so powerful in itself, unfolds there. And the thought immediately arises: There must be something in there that could benefit human health. An initial suspicion. So you start reading a little. You come across one scientific paper or another,[1] something from Traditional Chinese Medicine, and various folkloric or anecdotal accounts of healing effects.
And you realize: This is something interesting. Medicine as we know it is primarily based on an anti-principle—something works antibiotically, that is, against bacteria, viruses, or a disease one wants to combat. Alongside this is the supplement principle: Something is missing, so you provide it—too few thyroid hormones, too few vitamins, too few minerals.
What has not yet become widely established in medicine, however, are adaptogens. Yet the idea is obvious: We have the principle of evolution, and evolution means generativity—trying out new things, trying out alternatives, and then seeing what adapts best to the environment as it is or as it changes. And then it became clear to me: These pine tree pollens may contain an adaptogen—something that could help address this previously neglected area of medicine.
We all know situations in which we have settled in and then suffer a blow of fate, face an illness, or experience a change in the weather or climate. Those who can adapt progress further evolutionarily. And that is precisely where we can support our bodies—in adapting to changing environmental conditions, moments of stress, and challenges. There are some, although not very many, studies on pine pollen.
There are indications that the threshold of pain receptors can be raised, so that mild to moderate pain phenomena that would otherwise become chronic do not unnecessarily trigger the chain of exhausting stress reactions, potentially leading to suppression of the immune system.[2] Studies also suggest that pine pollen may have immunomodulatory effects, supporting the immune system in differentiating more effectively.[3]
This is an important distinction from mere 'immune strengthening': In the case of an autoimmune disease, simply strengthening the immune system would tend to worsen the condition. So what we need is not immune strengthening, but immune modulation—support in helping the body adapt to changing challenges, whether that means a different burden of germs, spores, or dust.
And then there is one final factor: Do pine pollens provide testosterone? At first, one might think of bodybuilders or aggression—but those are myths.[4] If you go to a maximum-security prison, you find men with the lowest testosterone levels there: insecure, not truly grounded, and precisely for that reason susceptible to the simplistic concept of aggression. Testosterone deficiency makes people aggressive—not testosterone itself.
Incidentally, this applies not only to men, but also to women within their respective ranges: While in men it is more closely associated with self-confidence, ability to face the future, and perseverance, in women it is more strongly linked to libido, enjoyment of life, and openness. You can tell, I am getting carried away. These pine pollens contain something that requires more detailed scientific investigation—but everything we know from specific reports by people and from the limited scientific material available points to this: This could be something important for all of us."
Sources: [1] Among others, Šaden-Krehula et al., Testosterone, epitestosterone and androstenedione in the pollen of Scotch pine P. silvestris L., Experientia, 1971. – [2, 3] Studies on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects of Pine-Pollen extracts; see our study overview. – [4] For the relationship between testosterone and aggression, see, among others, the Spektrum article 'Testosterone—The Underestimated Hormone'.
Find out more about Pine Pollen in our comprehensive Pine-Pollen overview. Those interested in the specific research behind it are recommended to read Which scientific studies are there on Pine Pollen?.