Pine Pollen Testosterone Study – First Ever! Complete Breakdown

Last updated on March 3, 2026

Lost Empire Herbs was happy to fund the first-ever Pine Pollen testosterone study to be done. Not only was it the first to look at the effects on testosterone, but it was also the first-ever human trial using Pine Pollen.

All research so far has either been in cells or in animals. And almost none of that looked at what Pine Pollen supplementation has become known for in recent years, which is helping to support the hormone system, specifically testosterone and other androgens.

This was published at the end of September 2024 in the Annals of Clinical and Medical Case Reports which you can view here:

Pine Pollen Impacts Testosterone-Related Symptoms in Older Men: A Pilot Report

In this article I’ll discuss the results, what it means for you, the limitations of the study, and all of that.

The Purpose of the Pine Pollen Testosterone Study

“The primary goal of this beta study was to determine the effects of consuming a proprietary tincture form of Pine Pollen extract [Pinus massoniana pollen] during an eight-week open-label trial on the clinical outcomes in older men with initial symptoms of low testosterone. The secondary goal was to determine the total serum testosterone level changes in the same cohort and analyze the correlation with symptomatology.”

On our end, with our company, we have long dreamed of contributing to the science behind this amazing herb which has always been our number one best seller. Pine Pollen is what started Lost Empire Herbs. Still, this dream didn’t happen until this year because science is expensive, even with just a small pilot trial like this.

When the opportunity presented itself, at a cost we could afford, we decided to move forward with it. We simply couldn’t pass up to further put Pine Pollen on the map with the first-ever human trial backing it up.

We expected positive results, simply based on the extensive anecdotal evidence we have available, well over a thousand positive reviews for this herb in its various forms. (You can see specific Pine Pollen testosterone reviews here for instance.)

The Subjects

Men over 45 years old were recruited. The subject pool came out to be between 47 and 78 years of age. (Just like so many of our customers demographics.)

The initial group was 12 men. Yet men with confounding issues, such as certain medical issues that were not initially disclosed, were excluded, which led to only 10 men completing the study.

The Protocol

The men took the Pine Pollen Tincture that we have normally available here at Lost Empire Herbs.

The dosage was exactly what is typically recommended, including the cycling. This dose is 1mL taken twice daily sublingually, morning and evening. This was taken for five days on and two days off per week.

At baseline and after eight weeks the subjects took an at-home blood test to measure total testosterone.

At baseline and after eight weeks the subjects also conducted the qADAM survey to look at various symptoms associated with androgen deficiency. (More on what this survey includes later.)

Pine Pollen Testosterone Study Demonstrates Total Testosterone Increased 23.7% ng/dL in 8 Weeks

Different researchers put different reference ranges for total testosterone. WebMD states that men aged 50 and older should have 193 – 740 ng/dL total testosterone.

The ten men started with an average of 362.5 ng/dL total testosterone. The lowest was 209. The highest was 563. Therefore, if we use that reference range, these weren’t even clinically low testosterone men, just on the lower side of average.

After eight weeks of supplementation, the average total testosterone level was 448.4 ng/dL, an improvement of 85.9 points. The lowest now was 263, while the highest was 703.

One subject had an extremely significant raise from 282 to 703. That’s from borderline low to ideal in just eight weeks. The next most significant change was 469 to 616.

The worst result was zero change with a pre and post level of 316. Interestingly, no one had negative results, although some others were marginal with just a 12 point change.

32.6% Increase in Quality of Life as measured by qADAM Survey

This study utilized the qADAM (Quantitative Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male), which is a scientifically validated questionnaire used by urologists and healthcare practitioners.

“While not universal in application, many health care professionals use the ADAM scales and similar, alone or in conjunction with total testosterone blood levels in screening for hypogonadism. As the scale evaluates various lifestyle factors, it can chart dysfunction and improvement in measures critical to a specific individual. In this survey, the number “1” equals a rating of “terrible,” while the number “5” equals a rating of “excellent.” Thus, the nine tabulated questions had a potential low score of nine and a potential high score of 45.”

This includes the following questions:

1. How would you rate your libido or sex drive over the last week?
2. How would you rate your energy level?
3. How would you rate your strength/endurance?
4. How would you rate your enjoyment of life?
5. How would you rate your happiness level?
6. How strong are your erections?
7. How would you rate your work performance over the last week?
8. How often do you fall asleep after dinner?
9. How would you rate your sports ability over the last week?

Each is scored on a scale from 1 to 5 giving a total score range from 9 to 45 across nine questions. The average score is 27 points.

The subjects in this study increased from a score of 23.9 (below average) to 31.7 (above average). This is an increase of 7.8 points or 32.6%.

The most significant changes were an improvement of 14 points, which was seen in two subjects. A third subject had a 13 point difference. The smallest change was just a single point.

Despite the small study group size, these results were highly statistically significant at p= 0.0035. This comes out to a one in 285 chance of being random.

Ultimately, this is more important than the total testosterone amount. While we believe that Pine Pollen helps to support testosterone levels, that is a single biomarker. The results come about from many different changes in the body, not just a single hormone. So it is not surprising to see the symptomatic picture significantly better than the one tested marker.

No Side Effects Reported

Very occasionally we’ll get a report from a customer having some issues, such as allergies from the Pine Pollen. This is more common in the powder or capsules than with the tincture.

But for this study, “No adverse pine pollen side effects were noted in any participant throughout the study duration.”

The Limitations of this Pine Pollen Testosterone Study

For the total testosterone, “Statistical significance was trending positive at p= 0.0584.” Statistically significant is typically at p=0.05 and this study failed to reach that amount.

“While the participants did increase their serum levels as the study progressed, the wide baseline level ranges and limited subject numbers may have precluded reaching standard statistical significance.”

I was a little disappointed to not reach the statistical significance, especially being so close. But as I said before the quality-of-life picture is more important in the end.

To be more than fair, without the outlier (subject #2), the results would have been a more modest 48.7-point increase which then would also have been less statistically significant.

“The study is limited by the open label design, the limited number of subjects and the variability of baseline testosterone levels. However, the participants were personally monitored to minimize recall bias, and the proper tincture consumption was carefully and frequently confirmed. Subsequent trials of longer duration and with larger subject numbers may be warranted to further confirm the present findings.”

Of course, this was not double-blind or placebo-controlled, which are needed for the gold standard of research. But with a pilot trial, the purpose is to show likely direction before anything like that (which is much more expensive) is done.

Knowing the difficulties in science, I’ll also state that Lost Empire Herbs simply funding the study is likely to lead to research that is positive. Besides initial consultations, I, nor anyone else in Lost Empire Herbs, did not take part in the subject selection, follow-up, data analysis, or writing of the study at all.

Such private funding is often needed in researching herbs because of the dominant medical model not wanting to find such natural answers. So, although it isn’t a perfect system, it’s what we have to work with.

Future Research

“[Evaluation of a younger male cohort [e.g. ages 25-45 years] could facilitate more widely generalizing these results.”

The study authors got lots of interest from younger men, even though the study sought to recruit only those 45+. A follow-up study with a younger group is likely to happen.

For future research, we’d like to look at various other blood markers in addition to total testosterone. These could include free testosterone, SHBG, estrogen, and more.

In addition to the younger men study mentioned, we’d also like to study women as Pine Pollen can be every bit as useful to females.

We hope that with this study in the books, more people will be open to trying Pine Pollen to see what it can do for them. Not just end consumers, but more clinicians and healthcare professionals as well.

Reference:
Wolkodoff NE, Pine Pollen Impacts Testosterone-Related Symptoms in Older Men: A Pilot Report. Ann Clin Med Case Rep. 2024; V14(5): 1-9 https://acmcasereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ACMCR-v14-2275-1.pdf