Bonafide Relizen review: does it work for menopause hot flashes?

Name: Bonafide Relizen review: does it work for menopause hot flashes?
Creator: MenoWoman

Swedish flower pollen extract, the active ingredient in Relizen, has a few small trials suggesting fewer hot flashes than placebo. The evidence is limited, funding is often unclear or industry-linked, and it is far weaker than for hormone therapy or prescription non-hormonal options.

Researched by the MenoWoman team. Edited by Marcela Sat. Updated 7 November 2026. We may earn from links.

See a doctor if hot flashes come with fever, weight loss, a racing heart or drenching sweats, or start long after menopause. Get urgent help for wheezing, hives or face swelling after taking it, and see a doctor about any bleeding after menopause.

What Relizen is and what the brand claims

Relizen is a daily tablet from Bonafide, made from a blend of pollen from four Swedish plants. The brand says it is clinically tested to relieve hot flashes (hot flushes in the UK) and night sweats.¹

The brand calls it hormone-free and says its pollen blend has no hormonal effect. It says the extract has been used in Europe for over 20 years.¹

Some headline numbers, such as 75% of women reporting fewer hot flashes, come from a survey of nearly 5,000 customers, not a controlled trial.¹

This page is an evidence review, not a hands-on test.

What is in it and how it might work

The active ingredient is a purified pollen extract. The brand says purification removes harmful allergens.¹

How it might ease hot flashes is unclear.³ Lab and animal tests found no estrogen-like activity, which supports the brand's hormone-free claim.³

What the research shows: small trials

2005 trial. Sixty-four women took a Swedish pollen extract product called Femal or a placebo for three months; 54 finished. About 65% on the extract reported fewer hot flashes, versus 38% on placebo.² Diary hot flash counts fell about 22 to 27% more than with placebo.² The abstract does not name the funder.

2024 trial. Thirty-nine breast cancer survivors in Italy took a purified pollen extract or placebo for three months; only 30 finished. Weekly hot flashes fell from about 46 to 29 with the extract, a change that was not seen with placebo.⁴ The paper mainly compared each group with its own starting point.⁴

Funding. The 2024 paper thanks Serelys Pharma for sponsoring it, while its funding statement says there was no funding.⁴ Some authors reported ties to supplement and drug companies.⁴

The brand cites three placebo-controlled trials.¹ We could not confirm that every trial used the exact Relizen product. Memorial Sloan Kettering rates the evidence as some studies suggesting benefit.³

Pooled evidence. A 2024 meta-analysis in the journal Menopause combined five studies with 420 women, only one of them a randomized trial. Hot flashes improved from the start of treatment, but the benefit was no longer significant when only controlled data were pooled. The authors said much of the improvement may be a placebo effect.⁵

The Menopause Society's 2023 statement on non-hormone treatments does not recommend supplements or herbal remedies for hot flashes.⁶

Limits. All the trials were small and short. Placebo effects are large in hot flash research, so small trials can overstate benefit. We found no large, independent trial comparing pollen extract with hormone therapy or a prescription medicine. Some earlier studies were open-label conference reports, and one mixed the extract with royal jelly.³

Safety, side effects and who should avoid it

Pollen allergy. The brand says allergens are removed, but we found no published allergy safety data.^1,3 If you have hay fever, asthma or a pollen or bee product allergy, ask a doctor or pharmacist first.

Side effects. The few trials reported almost no side effects.^3,4 Small, short studies can miss rare problems.

Breast cancer and tamoxifen. A lab study found the extract did not block CYP2D6, an enzyme tamoxifen needs.³ Safety in cancer patients is still not confirmed, so talk to your cancer team first.³

Pregnancy is still possible in perimenopause. There is no pregnancy safety data, so speak to a doctor if this applies.

Who it might suit and alternatives

Hot flashes often ease over time on their own, which makes any product look like it is working. Keeping a simple symptom diary for a few weeks can help you and your doctor judge.

It may suit women with mild hot flashes who want to avoid hormones and accept limited evidence. It may also interest women who cannot take hormones, but they should still check with their doctor. For moderate or severe symptoms, hormone therapy (HRT) and prescription non-hormonal medicines have much stronger evidence.

Read about hot flashes, hormone therapy, non-hormonal prescription treatments and whether menopause supplements work. Browse more on our supplements page.

Price and value

Bonafide sells Relizen as a single box or on monthly, three-month and six-month subscriptions, with lower per-month costs on longer plans.¹ Trials lasted three months, so give it that long before judging. Check current price.

If symptoms are not clearly better by then, a doctor can discuss options with stronger evidence.

What it is used for: evidence rated

Option	Evidence	What the research shows
Fewer hot flashes	Weak evidence	Two small placebo-controlled trials (64 and 39 women) suggest benefit, but a 2024 meta-analysis found no significant effect in controlled data; funding unclear or industry-linked.^2,4,5
Fewer night sweats	Weak evidence	Mainly supported by brand customer surveys; trial data are limited.¹
Better sleep	Weak evidence	Brand-cited data only; we found no independent trial on sleep.¹
Hormone-free	Weak evidence	Based on lab and animal tests only, which found no estrogen-like activity.³

Ratings explained: how we rate. Always talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting a medicine or supplement.