Pine Pollen Nutrition Facts (Protein, Amino Acids and Minerals)

Most pages that list pine pollen nutrition facts repeat two figures with no source behind them: "20 to 30% protein" and "200+ nutrients." Neither comes from a published analysis. The lab papers that do exist, from Korea, China and Siberia, give numbers you can check.

Pine pollen is the fine yellow dust male pine cones release each spring. Each grain carries two air sacs that let it drift on the wind. For the bigger picture on the plant, its history in Chinese and Korean food, and how men use it, start with our full guide to pine pollen. This page sticks to what is inside the grain.

Pine pollen nutrition facts per 100 g

Two Korean food science papers give a full proximate analysis. The 1992 study in the Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition measured red pine (Pinus densiflora) pollen. A 1999 study in the Journal of Korea Forestry Energy tested red pine and black pine (Pinus thunbergii). Per 100 g of pollen, the 1992 red pine figures were:

• Carbohydrate: 58.5 g
• Crude protein: 13.4 g
• Crude fibre: 14.7 g
• Crude fat: 2.1 g
• Ash (the mineral fraction): 2.8 g

The 1999 paper landed close by, with protein at 11.9 g (red pine) and 13.5 g (black pine), fat at 2.9 to 3.5 g and carbohydrate at 61.8 to 65.4 g. It also detected 18 amino acids in each species, 10 of them essential.

How much protein is in pine pollen?

About 13 g per 100 g. Zhao and colleagues put it near 13% in 1996, and every analysis since sits between roughly 11.9% and 16%. The most detailed recent work comes from Shiretorova, Erdyneeva and Radnaeva, published in 2024 in Proceedings of Universities, Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology. They measured crude protein at 14.38% in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) pollen and 15.94% in Siberian pine pollen, then broke it down into 17 amino acids.

The largest amounts in Scots pine pollen, converted to grams per 100 g:

• Glutamic acid: 2.13 g
• Arginine: 1.74 g
• Proline: 1.47 g
• Aspartic acid: 1.30 g
• Leucine: 0.96 g
• Lysine: 0.95 g
• Alanine: 0.79 g
• Valine: 0.69 g

Essential amino acids made up about 46% of the total in Scots pine pollen and close to that in Siberian pine pollen. Arginine stands out. At 1.74 g per 100 g it is the second largest amino acid in the grain, ahead of leucine and lysine.

Pine pollen nutrients beyond protein

A 2021 pharmacognostic study by Erdyneeva, Shiretorova and Radnaeva tested Scots pine and Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) pollen from the Baikal region. Their mineral figures, converted to mg per 100 g:

• Potassium: 1,149 to 1,294 mg
• Magnesium: 92.5 to 104.5 mg
• Manganese: 6.5 to 15.5 mg
• Zinc: 4.4 to 5.4 mg
• Vitamin C: 33.8 to 34.2 mg
• Flavonoids: 640 to 830 mg

Potassium is the leading mineral by a wide margin, which matches a 2005 element scan in Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis that found 11 elements in pine pollen (magnesium, selenium, silicon, strontium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium, manganese and iron) with potassium highest. Chinese reviews of pine pollen list the flavonoids by name, including kaempferol, taxifolin and naringenin.

Scots pine pollen was the first plant found to carry testosterone

In 1971 Šaden-Krehula, Tajić and Kolbah published a short paper in Experientia reporting testosterone, epitestosterone and androstenedione in Scots pine pollen. It was the first time testosterone had been isolated from a plant. Their mean figures per 10 g of pollen were 0.8 µg testosterone, 1.1 µg epitestosterone and 5.9 µg androstenedione. That paper is why researchers later went looking for effects in men.

What the 2024 and 2025 pilots measured in men

Wolkodoff, Haase, Mordkin and Beal ran an open-label pilot published in 2024 in the Annals of Clinical and Medical Case Reports. Ten men aged 47 to 78 took a pine pollen tincture by dropper, morning and evening, for eight weeks. Their mean total testosterone went from 362.5 to 448.4 ng/dL. Scores on the qADAM, a questionnaire covering drive, energy and erection strength, rose from 23.9 to 31.7.

The same team followed up in 2025 with 11 younger men, aged 25 to 50, over another eight weeks. Mean free testosterone rose from 10.48 to 11.72 ng/dL, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) fell from 29.1 to 27.4 nmol/L. Men taking pine pollen also describe stronger morning wood and more drive. Both studies used the same delivery method: a measured tincture from a dropper, taken daily. For more on how men take it, see pine pollen for men.

The pollen wall decides how much of this you get

Every number above sits inside a grain wrapped in sporopollenin, one of the toughest materials any plant makes. It survives in rock for millions of years, which is why fossil pollen exists. Whole, unbroken grains can pass through the gut with much of their contents still sealed inside.

That is why serious pine pollen is cracked cell, meaning the wall has been broken open. The 2005 Chinese element scan showed it in numbers too. Broken Masson pine pollen gave noticeably stronger element readings than natural, unbroken pollen.

Why Mara makes it as a spagyric tincture

Mara's Pine Pollen starts with wild-harvested, cracked-cell pollen of Pinus radiata. The pollen is extracted into liquid. Then the plant material left over is processed to recover its minerals, and those minerals are returned to the extract. That last step is what makes it spagyric. The potassium, magnesium and zinc in the ash fraction go back into the bottle with the extract, so the whole plant ends up in the bottle.

For a man taking it every day, the tincture is the practical form. One to two droppers is a measured amount, the same each morning. It goes under the tongue for 20 to 30 seconds, then you swallow, or you stir it into water, tea or a smoothie. A 50 ml bottle lasts 30 to 50 days at that rate, and it sits in a gym bag or desk drawer without fuss. The taste is soft and lightly earthy, with a faint sweetness.

Storage matters for anything with flavonoids and vitamin C in it, because light breaks them down. Dark amber glass is a step in the right direction. Dark Miron glass is the gold standard. It keeps visible light off the extract, and it is what Mara bottles Pine Pollen in.

Pine Pollen considerations

Contains alcohol. If you're pregnant, nursing or taking medication, ask your doctor before using it.

Questions men ask about pine pollen nutrition

Is pine pollen high in protein?

It holds about 13 g of protein per 100 g, with lab figures ranging from 11.9 to 15.94 g depending on species. The 2024 Baikal study counted 17 amino acids, with essential amino acids at about 46% of the total.

What minerals are in pine pollen?

Potassium leads at 1,149 to 1,294 mg per 100 g, followed by magnesium, manganese and zinc. Element scans have also picked up calcium, iron, phosphorus and selenium.

Does pine pollen contain testosterone?

Yes. In 1971 Šaden-Krehula and colleagues found testosterone, epitestosterone and androstenedione in Scots pine pollen, the first plant in which testosterone was isolated.

How do you take pine pollen as a tincture?

Take one to two droppers a day. Hold it under the tongue for 20 to 30 seconds and swallow, or stir it into water, juice or a smoothie.