Date palm pollen (Phoenix dactylifera)

Q: Does date palm pollen improve male fertility?

An 80-man trial found better sperm count and motility than with pentoxifylline after 90 days of 6 g/day. The other male studies had no placebo, and none reported pregnancy rates.

Q: Does it work for women's libido?

One trial in premenopausal women found better desire and lubrication scores with 300 mg/day for 35 days, but a trial in postmenopausal women found no effect.

Q: Does date palm pollen raise testosterone?

One placebo-controlled trial in 50 infertile men found higher testosterone, FSH and LH after 3 months on top of standard infertility drugs, but the capsules also contained black seed extract, so the effect cannot be credited to date palm pollen alone. Grade D.

Q: What are the side effects of date palm pollen?

The trial abstracts report little on side effects. The clearest known risk is allergy: date palm pollen is an airborne allergen, and people sensitised to it had more asthma and multiple allergies. Reviews also describe hormone-like compounds, and hormone-sensitive conditions have not been studied.

Q: How long did date palm pollen trials last?

From 4 weeks to about 3 months: 4 weeks and 35 days in the women's sexual-function trials, and 30 to 90 days in the male fertility studies. Results were measured at the end of each study, so how soon any effect appears is unknown.

Q: Is date palm pollen the same as bee pollen?

No. Date palm pollen comes from the male flowers of the date palm, while bee pollen is collected by bees from many plants.

Also called palm pollen, date pollen, Phoenix dactylifera pollen, DPP, gerda (date palm pollen).

Best grade C across 9 graded outcomes Botanical Last checked Oct 21, 2026

The short answer

From 11 sources

Date palm pollen is a traditional Middle Eastern fertility remedy. Small Iranian trials report better sperm counts and sexual function scores, but most fertility studies had no placebo, one trial in postmenopausal women found no effect, and reported doses are inconsistent. Date palm pollen is also a recognised airborne allergen.

Every graded outcome on this page

9 rows · line = participants

Grade CSperm parameters in idiopathic male infertilityMale fertilityn 80
Grade CFemale sexual function (FSFI) before menopauseSexual functionn 68
Grade DSperm parameters and antioxidant gene expressionMale fertilityn 80
Grade DErectile function and desire after coronary bypass surgerySexual functionn 60
Grade DTestosterone, FSH, LH and sperm quality in infertile menTestosteronen 50
Grade DSemen quality and oxidative stressMale fertilityn 50
Grade DSperm count and motilityMale fertilityn 40
Grade DMouth sores from cancer radiation and chemotherapyOral mucositisn 20
No effectSexual function after menopauseSexual functionn 110
6 more graded outcomes, in the evidence chapter

Key facts

Sperm quality: 6 g/day for 90 days improved sperm count, concentration and motility more than the drug pentoxifylline in 80 infertile men⁴
Hormones: A palm pollen plus black seed capsule, added to standard infertility treatment, raised testosterone, FSH and LH vs placebo in 50 infertile men over 3 months¹¹
Women's sexual function: 300 mg/day for 35 days raised desire and lubrication scores vs placebo in 68 premenopausal women¹
Null trial: 300 mg/day of extract for 4 weeks did not improve sexual function in 110 postmenopausal women²
No placebo: Three of the male fertility studies compared men before and after pollen with no placebo; two of them used fertile men as a reference group^5,6,7
Allergen: Date palm pollen allergy is linked to asthma and sensitisation to many other allergens¹⁰

What it is

Date palm pollen is the male flower dust of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), used in Middle Eastern traditional medicine for fertility and libido.

How it works

Proposed

Reviews attribute effects to flavonoid antioxidants and to gonadotropic and steroid-like compounds in the pollen. Two Iranian studies found higher expression of antioxidant genes (NRF2, SOD2, CAT, GPX4, PRDX1, PRDX6) and lower oxidative stress markers in sperm after supplementation. Causation is not established.^9,5,6

Forms, side by side

2 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.

Date palm pollen (Phoenix dactylifera) forms compared

2 forms

Date palm pollen (Phoenix dactylifera) forms compared: 2 forms by 3 attributes. Empty cells are labelled No data yet, or Not graded in the evidence row.
2 forms	Date palm pollen powder	Pollen or pollen extract capsules
Absorption in people	Not measured in the cited studies.^4,3	Not measured.^1,2,5
GI tolerance	Adverse events are not described in the abstracts.^4,3	Not described in the abstracts.^1,2,5
Studied for	Male fertility, sexual function after bypass surgery	Women's sexual function, sperm parameters

Date palm pollen powder
Absorption in people
Not measured in the cited studies.^4,3
GI tolerance
Adverse events are not described in the abstracts.^4,3
Studied for
Male fertility, sexual function after bypass surgery
Pollen or pollen extract capsules
Absorption in people
Not measured.^1,2,5
GI tolerance
Not described in the abstracts.^1,2,5
Studied for
Women's sexual function, sperm parameters

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

9 graded outcomes, largest study first

9 graded outcomes: 8 improved, 1 no effect. The largest, a 2023 randomized trial of 110 people on sexual function after menopause, found no effect.

By sizeTable

1Sexual function after menopause

No effect · No-effect grade · RCT, 110 people, 2023

Postmenopausal women (Iran)

Dose, result and source

Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
Outcome	Found	People	Study	Who was studied
Sexual function after menopause	No effect	110	No-effect grade · RCT, 2023	Postmenopausal women (Iran)
Sperm parameters in idiopathic male infertility	Improved	80	Grade C · RCT, 2024	Men aged 20-35 with low count, poor motility or abnormal sperm shape (Iran)
Sperm parameters and antioxidant gene expression	Improved	80	Grade D · Open-label trial, 2021	60 infertile men and 20 fertile men as a reference group (Iran)
Female sexual function (FSFI) before menopause	Improved	68	Grade C · RCT, 2022	Non-menopausal women (Iran)
Erectile function and desire after coronary bypass surgery	Improved	60	Grade D · RCT, 2022	Men after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (Iran)
Semen quality and oxidative stress	Improved	50	Grade D · Open-label trial, 2023	40 infertile men and 10 fertile men as a reference group (Iran)
Testosterone, FSH, LH and sperm quality in infertile men	Improved	50	Grade D · RCT, 2023	Infertile men aged 22-42 (Iran)
Sperm count and motility	Improved	40	Grade D · Open-label trial, 2015	Infertile men (Iran)
Mouth sores from cancer radiation and chemotherapy	Improved	20	Grade D · Open-label trial, 2014	People with head and neck cancers receiving radiation and chemotherapy

Every graded row

9 rows

Form tested

Showing 9 of 9 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade CSperm parameters in idiopathic male infertilityMale fertilityBetter sperm than pentoxifyllineRCT
n 80 · 2024

Improved Pollen improved sperm concentration (p = 0.016), morphology (p = 0.029), count (p = 0.012), progressive motility (p = 0.016) and total motility (p = 0.018) more than pentoxifylline.

Design: RCT, n = 80, 2024
Population: Men aged 20-35 with low count, poor motility or abnormal sperm shape (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen powder vs pentoxifylline 400 mg tablets
Dose: 6 g/day
Duration: 90 days
Source: Reference 4 · PubMed 38604508 (opens PubMed)

Grade CFemale sexual function (FSFI) before menopauseSexual functionBetter desire and lubricationRCT
n 68 · 2022

Improved Desire (P = 0.002), lubrication (P < 0.001) and overall FSFI (P = 0.042) improved vs placebo; arousal, orgasm, satisfaction and pain did not differ.

Design: RCT, n = 68, 2022
Population: Non-menopausal women (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen capsules vs starch placebo
Dose: 300 mg/day
Duration: 35 days
Source: Reference 1 · PubMed 36405056 (opens PubMed)

Grade DSperm parameters and antioxidant gene expressionMale fertilityBetter sperm markersOpen-label trial
n 80 · 2021

Improved Antioxidant gene expression (NRF2, SOD2, GPX4, CAT) rose after pollen, and the rises correlated with better sperm count (p = 0.01), motility (p = 0.05) and morphology (p = 0.01).

Design: Open-label trial, n = 80, 2021
Population: 60 infertile men and 20 fertile men as a reference group (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen capsules
Dose: Reported as 400 mg/kg/day
Duration: 30 days
Source: Reference 5 · PubMed 34401649 (opens PubMed)

Grade DErectile function and desire after coronary bypass surgerySexual functionHigher IIEF within groupRCT
n 60 · 2022

Improved IIEF rose from 23.21 to 46.57 and sexual desire score from 59.39 to 64.45 in the pollen group, with no significant change on placebo.

Design: RCT, n = 60, 2022
Population: Men after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen powder vs placebo powder
Dose: 3 g twice daily (6 g/day)
Duration: 2 months
Source: Reference 3 · PubMed 35388309 (opens PubMed)

Grade DTestosterone, FSH, LH and sperm quality in infertile menTestosteroneHigher testosterone (combination)RCT
n 50 · 2023

Improved Testosterone (P = 0.000), FSH (P = 0.004) and LH (P = 0.012) rose compared with placebo. Within the pollen group, sperm count (P = 0.001), progressive motility (P = 0.001) and rapid progression (P = 0.02) improved, but morphology did not (P = 0.23).

Design: RCT, n = 50, 2023
Population: Infertile men aged 22-42 (Iran)
Form: Capsules of palm pollen extract plus Nigella sativa (black seed) extract vs placebo, both on top of standard infertility drug treatment
Dose: Two capsules a day (the per-capsule amount is reported inconsistently)
Duration: 3 months
Source: Reference 11 · PubMed 36617207 (opens PubMed)

Grade DSemen quality and oxidative stressMale fertilityHigher countOpen-label trial
n 50 · 2023

Improved Semen volume (P = 0.030), sperm count (P < 0.001) and morphology (P = 0.023) improved and 8-isoprostane fell (P < 0.001) after pollen.

Design: Open-label trial, n = 50, 2023
Population: 40 infertile men and 10 fertile men as a reference group (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen capsules
Dose: Reported as 400 mg/kg/day
Duration: 74 days
Source: Reference 6 · PubMed 37183847 (opens PubMed)

Grade DSperm count and motilityMale fertilityBetter sperm (uncontrolled)Open-label trial
n 40 · 2015

Improved Sperm count, motility, morphology and forward progressive motility improved after treatment.

Design: Open-label trial, n = 40, 2015
Population: Infertile men (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen powder in capsules
Dose: 120 mg/kg every other day
Duration: 2 months
Source: Reference 7 · PubMed 26506651 (opens PubMed)

Grade DMouth sores from cancer radiation and chemotherapyOral mucositisFewer mouth sores (pilot)Open-label trial
n 20 · 2014

Improved Mean Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale scores were significantly lower with pollen than standard care, with less mouth pain and better swallowing.

Design: Open-label trial, n = 20, 2014
Population: People with head and neck cancers receiving radiation and chemotherapy
Form: Date palm pollen swish-and-swallow suspension vs standard care
Dose: 2 g/day
Duration: 42 days
Source: Reference 8 · PubMed 25148841 (opens PubMed)

No effectSexual function after menopauseSexual functionNo effectRCT
n 110 · 2023

No effect Sexual function scores did not differ between groups at the end of treatment (15.18 vs 14.22, P = 0.43) or 4 weeks later.

Design: RCT, n = 110, 2023
Population: Postmenopausal women (Iran)
Form: Date palm pollen extract capsules vs placebo
Dose: 300 mg/day
Duration: 4 weeks (plus 4-week follow-up)
Source: Reference 2 · PubMed 36650842 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Controlled trials are few

Of the eight fertility and sexual-function studies on this page, four had a placebo group (one testing a black seed combination) and one an active drug comparator; the other three compared men before and after pollen.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11}

Effects in women are inconsistent

Sexual-function scores improved in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women at the same 300 mg/day dose.^1,2

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from 300 mg/day of pollen or extract capsules for 4-5 weeks in women to 6 g/day of powder for 2-3 months in men. Some studies reported doses per kilogram of body weight that appear implausible. These are research doses, not recommendations.^1,2,4,3,5

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

Interactions

0 agents

None found in our sources.

Check with what you take

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Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Date palm pollen and your picks, and between your picks.

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Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Date palm pollen.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Who should be careful

5 groups

Pollen allergy or asthma: Date palm pollen is an airborne allergen; people sensitised to it had more asthma, food sensitisation and multiple allergies than other pollen-allergic patients.¹⁰
Hormone-sensitive conditions: Reviews describe gonadotropic and steroid-like compounds in date palm pollen, and a combination capsule with black seed raised testosterone, FSH and LH in infertile men; people with hormone-sensitive conditions were not studied.^9,11
Couples with infertility: The trials measured sperm quality, not pregnancies or births, and most had no placebo group.^4,5,9
Drug interactions: No published drug-interaction studies were found, including for fertility or hormone drugs.⁹
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: LactMed and LiverTox have no date palm pollen entry, and none of the studies on this page included pregnant or breastfeeding women, so safety is unknown. Reviews describe hormone-like compounds in the pollen.^1,9

How to read the label

What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.

How to read the label

2 checks

Pollen vs extract

Women's trials used 300 mg capsules of pollen or extract, while men's trials used 6 g a day of powder, a 20-fold difference.^1,4

Check the dose unit

Two studies reported 400 mg per kilogram of body weight, which would be about 28 g a day for a 70 kg adult; compare labels with the per-day doses in the controlled trials instead.^5,6

Have the bottle? Photograph its Supplement Facts panel and see each line, date palm pollen (phoenix dactylifera) included, beside the doses and forms the trials used in Label X-Ray.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

6 answers

Does date palm pollen improve male fertility?

An 80-man trial found better sperm count and motility than with pentoxifylline after 90 days of 6 g/day. The other male studies had no placebo, and none reported pregnancy rates.^4,5,7

Does it work for women's libido?

One trial in premenopausal women found better desire and lubrication scores with 300 mg/day for 35 days, but a trial in postmenopausal women found no effect.^1,2

Does date palm pollen raise testosterone?

One placebo-controlled trial in 50 infertile men found higher testosterone, FSH and LH after 3 months on top of standard infertility drugs, but the capsules also contained black seed extract, so the effect cannot be credited to date palm pollen alone. Grade D.¹¹

What are the side effects of date palm pollen?

The trial abstracts report little on side effects. The clearest known risk is allergy: date palm pollen is an airborne allergen, and people sensitised to it had more asthma and multiple allergies. Reviews also describe hormone-like compounds, and hormone-sensitive conditions have not been studied.^10,9

How long did date palm pollen trials last?

From 4 weeks to about 3 months: 4 weeks and 35 days in the women's sexual-function trials, and 30 to 90 days in the male fertility studies. Results were measured at the end of each study, so how soon any effect appears is unknown.^2,1,5,4,11

Is date palm pollen the same as bee pollen?

No. Date palm pollen comes from the male flowers of the date palm, while bee pollen is collected by bees from many plants.

Sources

11 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

11 sources

1Effect of date palm pollen supplementation on female sexual function in non-menopausal women: A double blind randomized clinical trial.RCT Chin Herb Med, 2022 · PMID 36405056
2The Effect of Palm Pollen Extract on Sexual Disorders in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.RCT Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery, 2023 · PMID 36650842
3Efficacy of Date Palm Pollen in the Male Sexual Dysfunction after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Clinical Trial.RCT Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2022 · PMID 35388309
4Phoenix dactylifera L. pollen versus pentoxifylline on improvement of sperm parameters in idiopathic male infertility: A randomized clinical trial.RCT J Ethnopharmacol, 2024 · PMID 38604508
5The effect of Phoenix dactylifera pollen on the expression of NRF2, SOD2, CAT, and GPX4 genes, and sperm parameters of fertile and infertile men: A controlled clinical trial.Open-label trial Int J Reprod Biomed, 2021 · PMID 34401649
6Effects of Date Palm Pollen Supplementations on The Expression of PRDX1 and PRDX6 Genes in Infertile Men: A Controlled Clinical Trial.Open-label trial Int J Fertil Steril, 2023 · PMID 37183847
7Effect of Palm Pollen on Sperm Parameters of Infertile Man.Open-label trial Pak J Biol Sci, 2015 · PMID 26506651
8Date palm pollen as a preventative intervention in radiation- and chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: a pilot study.Open-label trial Integr Cancer Ther, 2014 · PMID 25148841
9Effect of Pollen, Pit Powder, and Gemmule Extract of Date Palm on Male Infertility: A Systematic Review.Systematic review J Am Coll Nutr, 2018 · PMID 29087245
10Clinical profile of a Mediterranean population sensitised to date palm pollen (Phoenix dactylifera). A retrospective study.Observational Allergol Immunopathol (Madr), 2011 · PMID 21354689
11The Effect of Palm Pollen and Black Seed Pollen on Male Sex Hormones and Sperm Quality: A Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial Study.RCT Int J Fertil Steril, 2023 · PMID 36617207

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

3 entries

Dated changes to this page
Date	Change	Who and why
Oct 21, 2026evidence; key facts; who should avoid; FAQ; insights; questions; related	Added a 2023 placebo-controlled trial of a palm pollen plus black seed capsule in 50 infertile men (testosterone, FSH, LH; PMID 36617207), graded D and marked not form-specific. Pregnancy and breastfeeding note rewritten: LactMed and LiverTox have no date palm pollen entry (offline NCBI archive searched). Replaced the FAQ that repeated the page's own 'who should be careful' question with side effects, and added FAQ on testosterone and trial length, questions this page answers and goal-hub and black seed links. PubMed search through October 2026 found no newer trial or meta-analysis (a 2026 narrative review, PMID 42774627, adds no new trial data). Interactions re-checked: no drug-interaction study found in PubMed, LiverTox or LactMed.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z audit against docs/supplements/AUDIT-STANDARD.md
Oct 14, 2026all	Initial editorial evidence review (first draft). Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (titles and years taken from the record, none retracted) and the abstract read for each cited row. Studied doses are reported as research doses, not dosing advice.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page
Oct 14, 2026all	Adversarial review: corrected the 'No placebo' key fact; the 2015 study (PMID 26506651) had no fertile reference group.	Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: adversarial review

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