Pine Bark Extract, often commonly known as Pycnogenol, is used in chronic venous insufficiency, allergies, asthma, hypertension, muscle soreness, pain, osteoarthritis, diabetes, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), endometriosis, menopausal symptoms, dysmenorrhea, erectile dysfunction, and retinopathy. It is also used for helping to prevent stroke, preventing vascular conditions such as heart disease and varicose veins, slowing the aging process, maintaining skin health, improving athletic endurance, and improving sperm morphology in subfertile men.
Pine Bark is an extract from the bark of the pine tree. It contains several active constituents including flavonoid monomers such as catechin, epicatechin, and taxifolin. It also contains condensed procyanidins (also called flavonoids or proanthocyanidins) such as procyanidin B1, B3, B6, and B7 which are dimers, oligomers, and polymers of catechin and epicatechin. Pine Bark also contains phenolic acids including gallic, ferulic, caffeic, vanillic, p-coumaric, protocatechuic, and p-hydroxybenzoic acids, and their glucosides and glucose esters.
There is also some evidence that procyanidins make elastin more resistant to degradation by elastase, and that Pine Bark might inhibit elastase and collagenase released by activated macrophages. Pine Bark might also help prevent capillary permeability due to the antioxidant effects of several of its constituents. Pine Bark also seems to recycle ascorbyl and tocopheryl radicals, helping to maintain vitamin C and E levels.
Some research suggests that Pine Bark might be useful in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In vitro, pycnogenol prevents oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and protects DNA from damage by free radicals. It also seems to prevent free-radical induced endothelial damage in vitro.
Pine Bark inhibits epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation, such as that seen in smokers, but pycnogenol does not appear to increase bleeding risk or affect smoking-related increases in blood pressure or heart rate.
In non-smokers, it decreases serum thromboxane B2 and reduces systolic blood pressure.
For asthma, Pine Bark is thought to be beneficial due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In children with asthma taking pycnogenol decreases urinary levels of leukotrienes compared to placebo.
Preliminary evidence suggests that Pine Bark might stimulate the immune system. It seems to boost natural killer cell activity and improves T- and B-cell function in animal models.
Pine Bark might have some activity in Alzheimer's disease. In vitro, pycnogenol protects animal brain cells from the toxic effects of high levels of glutamate, and also from the toxic effects of amyloid-beta-protein, which is found in the plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.
There is a developing interest in using Pine Bark to prevent obesity. In vitro, Pine Bark appears to inhibit insulin-induced lipogenesis and may stimulate lipolysis.
Effect of pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) on symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.
Cisár P, Jány R, Waczulíková I, Sumegová K, Muchová J, Vojtassák J, Duraćková Z, Lisý M, Rohdewald P.
2nd Department of Orthopaedics of the Comenius University School of Medicine, University Hospital Ruzinov, Ruzinovská 6, 82606 Bratislava, Slovakia.
OBJECTIVE: The safe and efficacious use of Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract) in other inflammatory diseases prompted this study of its antiinflammatory effects in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of the study was to evaluate whether Pycnogenol reduces the symptoms of OA in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomly allocated trial with patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis stages I and II. METHODS: 100 patients were treated for 3 months either by 150 mg Pycnogenol per day at meals or by placebo. Patients had to report any change of use of previously prescribed antiinflammatory medication during the study period. Patients filled the Western Ontario and Mc Masters University (WOMAC) questionnaire for osteoarthritis every 2 weeks and evaluated weekly pain symptoms using a visual analogue scale for pain intensity. RESULTS: Following treatment with Pycnogenol patients reported an improvement of WOMAC index (p < 0.05), and a significant alleviation of pain by visual analogue scale (p < 0.04), the placebo had no effect. The use of analgesics diminished in the verum group but increased under the placebo. Treatment with Pycnogenol was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Results show that Pycnogenol in patients with mild to moderate OA improves symptoms and is able to spare NSAIDs.
French maritime pine bark extract significantly lowers the requirement for analgesic medication in dysmenorrhea: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Suzuki N, Uebaba K, Kohama T, Moniwa N, Kanayama N, Koike K.
Department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
OBJECTIVE: A previous open study demonstrated that French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) may soothe menstrual pain in dysmenorrhea. We thus investigated the effects of Pycnogenol on menstrual pain in a double-blind study. STUDY DESIGN: Subjects were 116 women aged 18-48 years. The first 2 menstrual cycles served as a control period; during the subsequent 2 menstrual cycles women received either a Pycnogenol supplement (60 mg/day) or a placebo in identical capsule form. One further cycle was monitored after cessation of capsule administration. Women were assigned to either a group with low menstrual pain or a group with dysmenorrhea. The criterion for assignment to the first group was absence of analgesic medication. RESULTS: In women with low menstrual pain, no significant difference for lowering of pain scores was found. In contrast, women with dysmenorrhea had a significantly lower pain score and required statistically significantly less analgesic medication during supplementation with Pycnogenol. The number of days women required analgesic medication was likewise found to be statistically significantly lowered in the Pycnogenol group. Even after discontinuation of Pycnogenol supplementation, the required analgesic medication remained significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: The analgesic-sparing effect of Pycnogenol increases with duration of supplementation and benefits persist even after discontinuation.
The anti-melanogenic effect of pycnogenol by its anti-oxidative actions.
Kim YJ, Kang KS, Yokozawa T.
Department of Dental Hygiene, Busan Women's College, Busanjin-Gu, Busan 617-734, South Korea.
Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract from pine bark that contains compounds that have anti-oxidative, free-radical scavenging properties. In this work, utilizing cultured B16 melanoma cells (B16 cells), pycnogenol was investigated for its ability to inhibit tyrosinase activity and melanin biosynthesis. We also examined the anti-oxidative power of pycnogenol by measuring its suppressive effect against peroxynitrite (ONOO-), superoxide (.O2), nitric oxide (NO.), and hydroxyl radical (.OH)-scavenging activities using an electron spin resonance spectrometer. Results show that pycnogenol had a strong anti-tyrosinase activity and suppressed melanin biosynthesis. Further, our results showed that through its anti-oxidative properties, pycnogenol suppressed .O2) NO., ONOO-, and .OH in in vitro assays, and reactive species, ONOO-, .O2, and NO., while up-regulating the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio in B16 cells. Based on the findings, we propose that pycnogenol exerts anti-melanogenic activity via its anti-oxidative actions.
In vitro inhibition of Helicobacter pylori growth and adherence to gastric mucosal cells by Pycnogenol.
Rohdewald P, Beil W.
Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, D-48161 Münster, Germany.
The emergence of antibiotic resistant H. pylori strains has necessitated the identification of alternative additive therapies for the treatment of this infection. The study tested whether a specific pine bark extract (Pycnogenol is effective in inhibiting the growth and adherence of H. pylori in vitro.Inhibition of H. pylori growth by Pycnogenol was tested in liquid medium as well as in an in vitro model by using sessile bacteria attached to AGS cells. Adherence was determined by co-incubation of gastric cells with Pycnogenol and H. pylori in vitro. Pycnogenol inhibited H. pylori growth in suspension with an MIC(50) of 12.5 microg/mL. Growth of H. pylori in infected cells was reduced to 10% of the control value by 125 microg/mL Pycnogenol. Adherence of H. pylori to gastric cells was reduced by 70% after 3 h incubation with 125 microg/mL Pycnogenol. The results show a significant, yet limited inhibition of growth and adherence of H. pylori to gastric cells by Pycnogenol. In vivo studies have to demonstrate the clinical relevance of these findings.
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on the effect of Pycnogenol on the climacteric syndrome in peri-menopausal women.
Yang HM, Liao MF, Zhu SY, Liao MN, Rohdewald P.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ham-Ming Hospital, Taiwan.
BACKGROUND: French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) was found to alleviate menstrual pain and reduce hyperactivity in clinical studies. These results suggest the possibility to observe positive effects in treating climacteric syndrome. OBJECTIVE: Clinical investigation of the effect of Pycnogenol, French maritime pine bark extract, on the climacteric syndrome. METHODS: Some 200 peri-menopausal women were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, and treated with Pycnogenol (200mg) daily. Climacteric symptoms were evaluated by the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ), patients were checked for antioxidative status and routine chemistry. A total of 155 women completed the study. RESULTS: All climacteric symptoms improved, antioxidative status increased and LDL/HDL ratio was favourably altered by Pycnogenol. No side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: Pycnogenol may offer an alternative method to reducing climacteric symptoms without unwanted effects.