Acidic-Treated Acorn Pollen as Health Functional Food Materials for Improvement of Post-Menopausal Glucose Metabolism

Su Jin Nam; Soo Im Chung; Mi Young Kang

doi:10.3746/pnf.2020.25.1.50

Acidic-Treated Acorn Pollen as Health Functional Food Materials for Improvement of Post-Menopausal Glucose Metabolism

Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2020 Mar 31;25(1):50-57. doi: 10.3746/pnf.2020.25.1.50.

Authors

Su Jin Nam¹, Soo Im Chung², Mi Young Kang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea.
² International Agricultural Training Center, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea.

Abstract

Pollen has high physiological value because it contains protein, essential amino acids, and 16 vitamins. However, pollen is difficult to absorb because of its hard form. This study explores the use of the acid-treated acorn pollen (acorn pollen deposited in apple vinegar for 30 days). The health functions of acid-treated acorn pollen on post-menopausal metabolism was tested by analyzing in vitro and in vivo biomarkers for glucose metabolism, by using the acid-treated acorn pollen and its residues, respectively. In vitro experiments showed high activity after measuring the low potency of glucose-related enzymes. In vivo experiments showed reduced blood glucose and insulin levels after consuming pollen. Pollen also increased the concentration of glucokinase, a glucose-regulating enzyme in hepatic and nephritic tissue, and lowered the concentration of glucose-6-phosphatase. These results are encouraging in showing that acid pollen can be used as a functional health food for treatment of post-menopausal metabolism.

Keywords: acidic-treated; acorn pollen; amino acid; enzyme inhibition; glucose metabolism.