As most know, I've been somewhat skeptical about the ingredients in Zi Xiu Tang that are supposed to work as well as the lack of information about ZXT side effects. I routinely scan the web for information about ZXT bee pollen supplements to try to help people who are taking ZXT. Finding unbiased information is a challenge, since it seems that most people who talk about ZXT also sell ZXT. So, I decided to try to locate quality ZXT info another way. I know there are Zi Xiu Tang distributors who read my website. For all the ZXT distributors reading these words, I have a challenge for you.
Update 4/8/14. The FDA warns people to immediately stop taking Zi Xiu Tang Bee Pollen weight loss supplements. It tested several Zi Xiu Tang products – including those that were said to be “genuine” and not counterfeit. The FDA found that the some products contained not only sibutramine, an illegal weight loss drug but some also contained Phenolphthalein, a chemical that may increase the risk of cancer. See the FDA alert for more information.
Update 10/24/12. The FDA determined that Zi Xiu Tang contains a weight loss drug. This explains why it worked as well as it did. The FDA advises people to stop taking Zi Xiu Tang immediately .
Update 7/25/12. ZXT Gold – a similar product – has been found to contain 2 hidden drugs by Canadian health authorities. See my ZXT Gold Review for more information on this.
Update 6/18/13. Also see my review of Slim Trim U for more information.
I challenge any Zi Xiu Tang distributor in the world to show me:
- One published peer reviewed study proving that bee pollen by itself promotes weight loss in humans. This should be easy since practically every ZXT website says it's bee pollen that is causing weight loss.
- Two published peer reviewed studies from separate independent United States based labs showing that Zi Xiu Tang it really contains only the ingredients listed on its label.
- A published peer reviewed study that scientifically outlines how Zi Xiu Tang works. No mumbo-jumbo talk of “cleansing toxins” or “detoxifying the body“. Rather, I want a study that shows me what specific ingredients in Zi Xiu Tang cause weight loss AND the metabolic pathways are by which those ingredients work.
Zi Xiu Tang distributor benefits
The first ZXT distributor who provides this information to me will be highlighted in this website along with his or her name and their Zi Xiu Tang website.
This will be the person who I have faith in; someone who does their homework and likely sells a quality Zi Xiu Tang supplement. It's important that all 3 of my requests be met to be highlighted in my website. Please email the evidence to me and I will respond to you immediately.
Comments are always welcome
Good morning .. Just wanted to throw something out .. Floyd Nutrition has a counterfeit products list .. It states buyer beware Floyd Nutrition has not sold Zi Xiu Tang for over 2 years!! (7-2-2013) if you have purchased a bottle that has Floyd Nutrition on it, it IS counterfeit !! Just thought I’d share 🙂 thanks
Thanks Sally 🙂
Interesting that Jen never replied to the last question posed to her above:
tmsg May 14, 2013 at 11:23 am
Don’t you currently sell another weight loss product? It’s such a coincidence that you decided to “test” your products 6 months before you were starting to sell a new product.
I thought I did comment on this, but it was on Joe’s other blog Zi Xiu Tang How it works. No I do not think it is a coincidence at all. We had a very large customer base who decided to walk away from zi xiu tang. As a company we made a decision to introduce safe USA made supplements to our customers after this discovery was made on zi xiu tang.
I am not against supplements when combined with a healthy lifestyle and exercise can be very effective. I am however against manufacturers/resellers hiding from customers the truth about zi xiu tang. It is very dangerous to add an illegal ingredient. I have never tried to promote any other supplement on Joe’s blog. This is a blog to raise awareness of harmful zi xiu tang.
You can question and attempt to find different answers, but reality is…the proof is there and not just by us but by the FDA as well. They conducted laboratory tests on the product as well.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm325537.htm
I do have quite a few zi xiu tang blog. easy to miss things.
this is the mfr. contact info. if anyone is interested in contacting them:
Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Contact Person: Mr. LIANG TANG
phone: 86-20-38065207
mobile:
fax: 86-20-87280003
zip:
Street Address: Room 1501, No. 39 Huangpu Ave. Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China
The funny thing is that if you go to google and put in the address “39 Huangpu Ave. Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China” you cant find a company called “Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology.” AND, if you google “Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology” you see a website that contains a TOTALLY different address : 11 Fuli Buliding, Pearl River New town, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China.
Also, how come when you go to google images and search for “Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology” no pictures of the building show up? Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology is a pretty impressive name which to me conjures up ideas that this might be a huge pharmaceutical company. But no pictures of the company. why? With all the billions of pictures on Google images, doesn’t anybody find it odd that NOBODY has ever taken a picture of Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology?
Am I the only person who goes hmmmmmm because of this?
Joe, I noticed the same thing when I researched. Very suspicious. I doubt you would even be able to contact the manufacturer I would be very surprised if someone actually got answers out of them.
Jen, yes its just odd. I really want to see a picture of this business.
http://www.gmdu.net/corp-654693.html
Are you saying that the GMDU.net website is the official website of Guangzhou zixiutang biotechnology? If yes then why is there no picture of the biotech company? The site says the business owner is “Mr. Xingha” but whats his first name? I cant find anything about him on the web. The GMDU.net website lists many websites not just the zi xiu tang site so this cant possibly be the offical guangzhou zixiutang biotech website.
Dont you find this odd?
no, i was just trying to give more info about the company. sorry if i wasn’t clear.
just a question, are all pharm companies in china on google images? like johnson and johnson? i know they have mfr. all over.
Thats fine. no harm done 🙂 When the company name includes “biotechnology” I assume that the company does bio-tehnology. I assume this is a big building since biotech is an expensive business to be in.
Im not sure if google street view is available in China. I’m guessing its not. But there are a LOT of people in China with cameras. how come nobody ever took a pic of the company?
I see your point …I will keep looking…
i’ve actually been googling the phone numbers, not the 484 number the other one and find a lot. If i find a pic of the company I will post it. But that one site had a map, not sure if that helps.
I did see the map but could not see what the map looked like (street view). google does let you “search nearby” and when I searched for the zi xiu tang biotechnology company nothing showed up.
I know this isn’t a picture, but does it mean anything that they are listed?
http://companies.globalmarket.com/guangzhou-zixiutang-biotechnology-co-ltd-39859.html
Ok they are listed on different websites but what I’m wondering is what the business actually looks like. is it a laboratory setting or is a room where people put stuff in capsules? I see on the link you provided that they say the owner of Guangzhou zixiutang is ” Mr. Bifang Chen” but this is different than the other link you provided where ““Mr. Xingha”” was listed as the owner. Don’t you find that weird?
Does the GMP seal mean anything?
GMP means good manufacturing practices. I found this on the FDA website
http://www.fda.gov/drugs/developmentapprovalprocess/manufacturing/ucm090016.htm
http://www.duanemorris.com/alerts/FDA_guidance_dietary_supplement_cGMP_regulations_3927.html
Can they counterfeit the GMP seal? I only ask because I see this product has it on their box.
I dont know if they can counterfeit the GMP seal. you may want to ask the FDA about this. I really have no idea about this.
When there is a recall it can take a very long time for the FDA to complete the recall. I am unsure as to what you are looking for? The FDA clearly posted a warning on zi xiu tang bee pollen capsules after I had recalled zi xiu tang with the FDA. One of the best decisions I ever made to make others aware of these harmful supplements.
To answer your question, I was an independent reseller under http://www.zixiutangbeepollen.com/www.beepollendiet.com. The product I received and distributed by them was manufactured by Guangzhou Zi Xiu Tang Biotechnology, Co. My other product I had also recalled the Ultimate formula was also from China but not from the same distributor/manufacturer.
If you would read some of my previous posts you will see I had already clarified all of this. Ultimately, the choice is left up to you of whether or not to take zi xiu tang. Here’s a thought….instead of searching for the truth, contact a lab and have the product tested yourself and this will give you the answers you are searching for.
I would LOVE to have the products tested, however, I have no idea where to begin. So, if you would provide information as to how you were able to have it tested, I would greatly appreciate it.
And, again, I ask, why does the FDA only have the recall on certain “lots” if its all tainted?
Judy,
As I said before I will NOT provide any testing for the public as I signed a confidentiality agreement. Also, if you view the link below you will see in the second paragraph..”FDA lab test results conclude….” That is all the proof you should need. Facts are Facts and they will not change.
I don’t understand what my selling USA made supplements has to do with zi xiu tang? Again, facts are facts. Plain and simple. Without the presence of sibutramine, how effective would the product be? Where are clinical studies? I distributed Zi xiu tang for a very long time and just like a few years ago in 2010 when sibutramine was banned in the USA, all of sudden zi xiu tang stopped working. They claimed they removed senna. Hence the reason we created the ultimate at that time to please our customers. Then magically senna was put back in (really we know what was put in) and along came classic zi xiu tang! Wake up!
The reason it was only certain lots is because China will add sibutramine on and off hoping not to get caught. Hence, the reason you have customers complain every so often of not losing any more. Or as resellers call it a plateau. In reality, no matter what I say you will continue to believe this lie that China and the reseller has created. Like I said, FDA results should be enough. But, I will recommend a lab for you. Below is a link of a lab you could use. If you notice they have a page separately on testing of sibutramine in dietary supplements.
http://www.floraresearch.com/6.html
Hope you make the right decision…
My message posted was for tmsg and Judy. Thanks.
Don’t you currently sell another weight loss product? It’s such a coincidence that you decided to “test” your products 6 months before you were starting to sell a new product.
I would love to have the product tested for myself, however, as a CONSUMER, I have no idea where to go or the cost. So, if you are so concerned about everyone’s health, why not show the lab results you have or provide labs we can send them too. I do not wish to publish my email for everyone to have in fear of being harassed since I’m not going with the flow of everyone on here.
Judy, don’t worry, you will not be harassed. You could try contacting a local university and seeing if they would like to analyze it for you. A chemistry department would likely be able to determine what is in zi xiu tang.
Joe-
Thank you, I’m going to try that.
My point is, if you choose to take it, fine. If you choose not to take it fine. Why do we need to go and try to and bash something that may work for someone else just because it doesn’t work for you? That’s all that seems to be happening on here.
Judy (anmoymous) thats not what is happening here. Previously in my other zi xiu tang reviews I presented the evidence on the ingredients causing weight loss. There is no evidence other than a laxative effect.
I wrote my zi xiu tang challenge as a response to all the people who commented on my other zi xiu tang posts about how they were losing weight with the product. I always felt that given the ingredients zi xiu tang could not possibly work -unless it had some extra help. the FDA warning letter showing that at least one product had sibutramine confirmed my suspicions. I don’t trust this product and I don’t feel its safe. Dry mouth is a sign of sibutramine and a LOT of people are saying they get this side effect. I could be wrong but that may be evidence that a lot of zi xiu tang products contain sibutramine.
Did you also know that the distributor who asked to have it tested, was a distributor for Floyd Nutrition? And did you also know that Floyd Nutrition was coming out with another product around the same time this whole FDA letter came out? This is all of the info that is left out. Floyd Nutrition makes their own products if I’m not mistaken, so is it fair to say all of he product was tainted?
Judy (anonymous), no the person who alerted the FDA was an indepdendant zi xiu tang distributor. Post a comment on these reviews asking for who she is. she monitors those reviews and has commented on more than one occasion
http://supplementclarity.com/zi-xiu-tang-revealed/
http://supplementclarity.com/zi-xiu-tang-does-it-work/
As I understand it Floyd Nutrition does not make supplements. they are a wear house that sells products made by various supplement companies. They may commission companies to make products for them but I am not sure of this either way.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1003114#t=articleResults
This is the link with the report. If you don’t think its official, feel free to google it.
Again, I realize the question is whether or not its in the Zi Xiu Tang Bee Pollen. I just feel you need to know everything before you start spreading rumors.
Judy, Thanks I believe Ive seen that study. What I am saying is that I do not believe Zi Xiu Tang works, given the ingredients listed. Ive felt from the start that something else was going on as far as the ingredients were concerned. Distributors like to say “it was only a specific batch” of zi xiu tang that was highlighted in the FDA warning letter (FYI it was a zi xiu tang distributor who asked the FDA to look at her product) but my opinion is that ANY zi xiu tang product that causes significant weight loss without any change in eating pasterns or exercise is probably spiked with something. I see no possible way the listed ingredients work, other than maybe being a laxative.
you are entitled to your opinions but the FDA warning letter supports my contention on zi xiu tang. Its also very telling that since I wrote my “challenge” not a single zi xiu tang distributor has tried to take my up on my offer.
And what are you “qualifications” other than being a blogger?
Judy (Anonymous).
1. I have been writing about and researching dietary supplements for over 10 years.
2. I am the author of Nutritional Supplements What Works and Why a book that reviews the evidence and claims for 120 vitamins, minerals etc and contains over 900 clinch references to prove what I am saying.
3. I have a BS in chemistry and biology and a MS in exercise science. You can read more about me at Joe-Cannon.com
If you read my reviews, you will see I dont want you to take my word for anything. I link to the actual scientific studies on products or their ingredients. I believe people should be able to read the clincal evidence for themselves rather than take the word of people they don’t know – including me.
I agree, but when I have tried now twice to get information from the FDA they tell me its not available or incomplete. So how can they post a warning letter without a complete report?
You will have to ask the FDA that. I have no idea how the FDA works.
Oh, here’s more information I bet no one bothered to research. I looked for the clinical testing on sibutramine. Something no one bothers to read. The people who it was tested on where morbidly obese, had high blood pressure, history of heart problems, diabetes, and other health issues already.
The FDA warned Dr.’s about the side effects and to prescribe with caution to patient’s with any of those health issues. The report stated the FDA was torn about recalling but because people were abusing it, the decided to recall it. The 29 deaths that were reported were people who had the conditions that I mentioned.
Having said all of this, I understand if there is something in the Zi Xiu Tang it should be listed. But I also think people should do more research before spreading rumor upon rumor.
Anyone can read the info I mentioned. The report is called SCOUT and you can find it by googling SCOUT sibutramine and I’m sure something will come up.
Judy, zi xi tang is being marketed to all types of people. do you really think zi xiu tang distributors are saying to their customers “you shouldn’t use that because you are morbidly obese”? I doubt they are. People who are over weight do tend to suffer from several health ailments. just because they looked at morbildly obese people does not mean people who are not morbidly obese wont have any problems. Lets assume the risk of sibutramine in non obese people is less than in obese people. how much less are you comfortable with? The fact that sibutramine caused 29 deaths should be scary enough for most to not use it.
Also who is to say how much sibutramine is in zi xiu tang? It’s not even listed on the product so, if people are getting products that contain sibutraimie, how do they know how much they are taking?
As a matter of fact, the person I buy from, did and does warn us to consult our physician before starting it. Most Dr.’s don’t find anything wrong with the product.
And I will ask again, the product that was VOLUNTARILY recalled, who was the manufacturer? I believe you will find out it was Floyd Nutrition. For you to say there aren’t any counterfeit products is naive. Have you seen all of the black market FDA approved meds out there? Are you going to tell me that there is no such thing?
Judy (anonymous), Id bet most doctors are not aware of the FDA warning letter on Zi xiu tang and are probalby only looking at the ingredients list. Also when you say “most doctors” say its ok, how do you know how many say “its ok?” did you do a survey? If yes how many doctors are we talking about? Lets show the doctor the FDA warning letter on Zi Xiu Tang and then ask him/her if its ok for the person to take.
Im sorry but Floyd Nutrition does not make Zi Xiu tang. They are basically a warehouse in Lancaster PA. If you search my other zi xiu tang reviews you will see the link to what their facility looks like. Also look through the comments and you will see the distributor who alerted the FDA about zi xiu tang.
Its not that there are no counterfeit zi xiu tang products – Im sure there are knock off products sold – its that I think ALL bee pollen weight loss products are ineffective given the ingredients I see listed. None of them will work (other than being a laxative) if the ingredients listed are all there is to the product. That is my opinion based on what I have seen.
Something I don’t understand by these comments. I understand if you don’t want to take them because of how they affected you, but if there are people who are fine with no side affects, what is it to you? If you don’t like them, don’t take them. I have requested info from the FDA regarding their recall, as I take these supplements. This is the response I received:
“Please be advised the recall documents for this firm pertaining to Bee pollen have yet to be completed, therefore are currently unavailable.”
So if the documents are not complete, how can they say they did the testing?
Has anyone else done any further research besides spreading their hatred for a product that doesn’t work for them? Every product has side effects, even ones approved by the FDA (Viagra, Lipitrol, Anti Depressants) but I don’t see a board on here discussing how terrible they are.
If anyone can produce the documents from the FDA showing the test results I would love to see them.
Judy, If we agree that some people have bad side effects (probably due to sibutramine or some other drug) while others don’t, doesn’t that sound like Russian roulette? I mean, until you use it, how do you know you would be one of the lucky ones who didn’t have side effects? That’s not a chance I would be willing to take.
Doesn’t that apply to any medication or supplement? When Dr.s prescribe medications, don’t they tell you to let them know if you have any adverse effects so they can change the medication? Isn’t that playing Russian Roulette?
And the FDA is not the most ethical corporation. Did you know that the ones who decide what will get their approval and what won’t also hold stock in the Pharmaceutical companies who make the drugs? So why all the confidence in their decisions?
I’ve got some issues with FDA also but at the very least there is some oversight. As I understand it zi xiu tang products are produced in companies either based in china/Asia or somewhere in Europe. Has anybody seen these companies/been to them? Have you? Has anybody ever seen or talked to a scientist who makes these products? Where is the oversight here? Im not going to play conspiracy theory here Judy.
That is exactly what you are doing by making the claims that all the products contain the sibutramine! Who is to say that “Jen” who used to sell it is telling the truth? Why is she a trusted source?
We have proof that some have sibutramine. Other than weight loss drugs in the product, I see no possible way zi xiu tang could work.
You have not addressed the fact that the FDA stated the reporting is not complete and its not available. Why would something they tested in 2012 not be complete?
Judy (anonymous), I have no idea how the FDA works. Like all government agencies its a big entity and likely underfunded. I would ask them again why its taking so long.
Another point I would like to make about not taking something that makes you feel bad. I suffer from migraines. Dr. have me Imitrex. I had a horrible reaction to it, made me short of breath to the point I thought I was going to go to the hospital. Turns out, it was a side effect. What did I do? I STOPPED TAKING IT! I didn’t go around bashing and trashing the company who manufactures it or the Dr. So how is that any different that the bee pollen?
Everything has side effects. The issue is that Imitrex has been tested through rigiourous studies. zi xiu tang has NO studies. Bee Ive never seen any studies even by any company that produces it. Bee pollen does nothing for weight loss. Im sorry but we will have to agree to disagree on this.
And as someone else stated previously when you tell New Reflections about the problem you have with their product they block and delete all your posts from their page.
Very very true about new reflectionsnewyou site. The Mary H woman will delete all your posts from the fan page on Facebook and then block you. There are a bunch of online distributors to claim to be the real deal so I find it very odd, this Mary H says she is the only real deal and you must buy from HER!
It seems like this business is more of a game then a real honest business and there must be a lot of cash being made. That is why this business seems to be shady.
Does anybody know what the markup for these resellers and distributors are? They are selling for around $60.00/box and my best guess is they are buy it for less than $20/box making a huge profit.
Recently started taking zi xiu tang bee pollen from a distributor also getting it directly from China and ended up in the ER. Followed all the instructions ate and drank more than enough water. EKG showed SVT and my blood pressure was what you would see in a stroke patient. I work in the medical field in an ICU so I know what normal is. I’m young and have no history I am on no other medications and my blood pressure has never been high. Blood work was drawn showing I was not dehydrated and the only conclusion is that it was caused by the bee pollen. Others should be warned of what had occurred as I will also report t to the FDA.
Recently started taking zi xiu tang bee pollen from a distributor also getting it directly from China and ended up in the ER. Followed all the instructions ate and drank more than enough water. EKG showed SVT and my blood pressure was what you would see in a stroke patient.
I work in the medical field in an ICU so I know what normal is. I’m young and have no history I am on no other medications and my blood pressure has never been high. Blood work was drawn showing I was not dehydrated and the only conclusion is that it was caused by the bee pollen. Others should be warned of what had occurred as I will also report it to the FDA.
I was taking ZXT bee pollen for 2 weeks and had TERRIBLE side effects. Unbearable dry mouth, highly increased heart rate, hot flashes, and nausea. (I am a healthy 21 year old on no other medications.) I then saw the FDA warnings about it so stopped taking it immediately, but because I saw so many of my friends have successful weight loss on the bee pollen with no side effects, I decided to try it again just to see if it was the ZXT that was definitely causing those side effects.
Once again I am experiencing all these terrible side effects and I’m throwing these capsules in the garbage.
I was completely shocked when I walked into my gym – Retro Fitness – and they were promoting ZXT all over the gym. I talked to the owner to let him know about the FDA warnings about it and the side effects I experienced and he laughed.
He told me that they get their ZXT bee pollen from a specific vendor that tests for the hidden drug Sibutramine and that ONLY THEIR PRODUCT is guaranteed to be drug free and natural. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!
This bee pollen is all made in the same place and unless Retro has a laboratory in their basement making their ZXT, then theirs is exactly the same as the one I was taking that gave me all the side effects. (I checked my code on the ZXT website to make sure mine was real before I took it)
Lauren, Thanks for letting me know about this. Retro Fitness is on very thin ice selling a supplement that has an FDA warning letter. I wonder if the corporate offices of Retro know about this?
Ask for the name of the company he gets it from and ask to see a lab test. I’d bet a dollar he cant show you a recent lab test.
Peer reviewed papers on bee pollen and weight huh? Can do.
Here is a study on the effects of bee pollen on weight. Chickens, not humans. Still interesting because of the sex discriminated result.
Haščík, Peter, et al. “Impact of bee pollen as feed supplements on the body weight of broiler Ross 308.” African Journal of Biotechnology 11.89 (2012): 15596-15599.
Here is one for deer.
Attia, Y. A., A. Al‐Hanoun, and F. Bovera. “Effect of different levels of bee pollen on performance and blood profile of New Zealand White bucks and growth performance of their offspring during summer and winter months.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 95.1 (2011): 17-26.
Here is one specifically about the chemistry of CHINESE bee pollen, which is quite relevant since this is a product from china.
Yang, Kai, et al. “Characterization of Chemical Composition of Bee Pollen in China.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2012).
Another one like that…
Feás, Xesús, et al. “Organic Bee Pollen: Botanical Origin, Nutritional Value, Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activity and Microbiological Quality.” Molecules 17.7 (2012): 8359-8377.
Bee pollen and other bee products and effects on humans, this is really hard to wade through but the reference list of this paper is AMAZING.
Izuta H, Shimazawa M , Tsuruma K, Araki Y, Mishima S, Hara . Bee products prevent VEGF-induced angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2009, 9:45. 1-10.
A FDA employee’s paper on the method for finding drugs in supplements.
Dunn, Jamie D., et al. “Qualitative screening for adulterants in weight-loss supplements by ion mobility spectrometry.” Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (2012).
Different supplements than Zi Xiu Tang, but they named them in this paper.
Blachut, Dariusz, et al. “Identification of N-desmethylsibutramine as a new ingredient in Chinese herbal dietary supplements.” Probl Forensic Sci 70 (2007): 225-235.
I wish I could get the full text of this one…
Ulbricht, Catherine, et al. “An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Bee Pollen by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.” Journal of dietary supplements 6.3 (2009): 290-312.
There is a bunch of peer reviewed research out there if you just go look for it, although I have to say that the insistence on USA is a bit silly. There is perfectly respectable science going on all around the world. Even if you decide to dismiss research work from china, why exclude Europe, Australia, Africa and… and well the rest of the world? Its a bit…well..science jingoism.
Hey Erin. “jingoism” – I don’t know whether to be insulted (I’m not!) or proud of myself I knew what that word meant – I’ll be proud 😉
I appreciate you going to all that trouble of looking up those studies – I really do! I guess in my review I should have rephrased my question about bee pollen weight loss research that used humans. I can’t find any. I did look at each of the studies you so nicely posted. My thoughts are below.
Haščík, Peter, et al. “Impact of bee pollen as feed supplements on the body weight of broiler Ross 308.” African Journal of Biotechnology 11.89 (2012): 15596-15599.
This is a chicken study.
Attia, Y. A., A. Al‐Hanoun, and F. Bovera. “Effect of different levels of bee pollen on performance and blood profile of New Zealand White bucks and growth performance of their offspring during summer and winter months.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 95.1 (2011): 17-26.
This, as you said, is a deer study. If I understood the study correctly, bee pollen was seen to “increased body weight gain.” I don’t see think bee pollen increases weight or decreases it in humans.
Yang, Kai, et al. “Characterization of Chemical Composition of Bee Pollen in China.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2012).
This study only looked at what the bee pollen was made of. No reference to weight loss and it didn’t address the issue of companies putting “extra stuff” like weight loss drugs in bee pollen weight loss supplements.
Feás, Xesús, et al. “Organic Bee Pollen: Botanical Origin, Nutritional Value, Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activity and Microbiological Quality.” Molecules 17.7 (2012): 8359-8377.
This study just says that bee pollen from different areas may be chemically different. That would make sense to me.
Izuta H, Shimazawa M , Tsuruma K, Araki Y, Mishima S, Hara . Bee products prevent VEGF-induced angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2009, 9:45. 1-10.
This was basically a test tube study of human umbilical cord vein cells. Interesting result on the growing of new blood vessels though. I appreciate you mentioning this.
Dunn, Jamie D., et al. “Qualitative screening for adulterants in weight-loss supplements by ion mobility spectrometry.” Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (2012).
In this paper the FDA scientist found Desmethylsibutramine – a metabolite of sibutramine (a banned appetite suppressant) and phenolphthalein (a laxative drug) in the 2 weight loss “supplements” they tested.
Blachut, Dariusz, et al. “Identification of N-desmethylsibutramine as a new ingredient in Chinese herbal dietary supplements.” Probl Forensic Sci 70 (2007): 225-235. This investigation also notes desmethylsibutramine (a form of sibutramine) being found in Chinese weight loss supplements.
Ulbricht, Catherine, et al. “An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Bee Pollen by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.” Journal of dietary supplements 6.3 (2009): 290-312.
This looks interesting and I agree, I’d like to read this study also.
Erin, I don’t really discount research from china and else ware. I know they can do good research. That said, I admit I am somewhat biased to US/European etc. research because, for one, there may be better protection of people involved in the studies (because of IRBs etc). Does that make me “jingoistic?” Maybe a wee bit. It’s not a rule “engraved in stone tablets” but rather something I consider when I review research studies.
Thanks for taking the time to list all that research!! 🙂