Pycnogenol®, the cosmetic pill

Friday, June 18, 2010

Pycnogenol®, the cosmetic pill

The first "laugh lines" appearing in our face don't make us worry yet. Though we surely follow the development when looking into the mirror. The question we then ask ourselves is "do I need to already do something". The progression towards deep lines radiating down from the corners of the eyes and on both sides of the mouth is just a question of time. How long this takes depends on the efforts we take to prevent supply shortages of all that our skin needs to stay healthy and juvenile.

The way every day life lets our skin look worn-out are complex. The sun's ultraviolet rays create a burst of free radicals in the skin. The same rays that force our skin to tan break down and weld-together collagen and elastin, elastic fibers that hold skin cells together. It doesn't take a sunburn for this process, a few minutes exposure is enough to cause skin cells to make enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, causing skin to wrinkle and sag.

Free radicals do not only originate from the environment but are a by-product of cells' metabolism. These harmful molecules need to be cleared up before they can burden skin cells.

A stressful unhealthy lifestyle causes constriction of fine blood vessels in the skin. The skin is insufficiently supplied with oxygen and nutrients and not detoxified properly, it dries out. Sometimes these fragile capillaries even break, causing red blotches.

There are plenty of good cremes and lotions available to bathe the skin in nourishing vitamins, constituents to combat free radicals and to moisturize the skin. Yet, this addresses only one, the outer side of the skin. The importance of the interior of our body gets mercilessly visible, when we have sinned: A stressful day at the job, little sleep, a few drinks, unhealthy deep-frozen food. The skin crucially depends on fine, barely visible blood capillaries to bring in nutrients, water, oxygen and remove waste products. In this respect the skin is an organ like others of our body, with the exception that it happens to be our visible outer barrier. The key to a well performing organ is to make sure it gets what it needs. This cannot be compensated by cremes or lotions.

The amazing action of Pycnogenol® begins with the relaxation of tiny blood vessels in the skin, restoring a good blood circulation. With abundance of water and oxygen and removal of waste products, life is brought back to the skin. You can actually see that the skin being replenished with moisture, looking tight and fresh.

But Pycnogenol® doesn't stop here: It binds and protects collagen and elastin, soft and resilient proteins that support the skin and keep it taut. Enzymes and free radicals can no longer break down collagen and elastin fibres, the process enabling development of wrinkles. Moreover, Pycnogenol® supports renewal of collagen fibres letting skin regain its firmness and elasticity. Pycnogenol gives stability to fragile capillaries in the skin, stopping them from causing blotches.

The minute you start using Pycnogenol®, the ageing process of the skin will be defied. Pycnogenol® is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants currently known, far more powerful than vitamins C and E. In fact, Pycnogenol® even recycles and protects used-up vitamins C and E, extending their activity.

The skin ages because the damage caused by free radicals piles up over the years. Degenerative changes begin slowly but surely, leaving an indelible imprint on the face that, sooner or later, becomes noticeable. Pycnogenol® brings this process to a halt by clearing up free radicals, no matter whether they result from sunlight, environmental pollutants or cellular metabolism.

A californian clinical study published this year has shown that Pycnogenol® helps to prevent sunburn and photoageing. Pycnogenol® extinguishes free radicals developing in response to light-exposure before any damage can be done to collagen and skin cells. Moreover, it was discovered that Pycnogenol®'s action is not restricted to neutralising UV-induced free radicals developing in the skin: Pycnogenol® anti-inflammatory action diminishes further damage caused by activated immune cells to the skin. This does not imply that it is safe to expose yourself to broad mid-day sun when you take Pycnogenol®. Pycnogenol® is no sun-block substitute, but it considerably helps your skin to cope with the sunlight-burden.

Pycnogenol® is also able to correct an over-pigmentation of the skin, medically termed melasma or chloasma. This is a condition frequently experienced by women: Small skin areas which are darker than the surrounding, and to make things worse it predominantly affects the face. Taking Pycnogenol® lets these spots shrink and get lighter too.

Pycnogenol® also has a moderate anti-inflammatory action which is often helpful in cases of minor irregularities of the skin.

Looking as good as you possibly can, no matter what your age, doesn't need to remain a dream: The tool that can make it happen is at your disposal.


1. Hagerman AE, Butler LG. The specificity of proanthocyanidin-protein interactions. J Biol Chem 256: 4494-4497, 1981.
2. Fitzpatrick DF, Bing B, Rohdewald P. Endothelium-dependent vascular effects of Pycnogenol®. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 32: 509-515, 1998.
3. Ni Z, Mu Y, Gulati O. Treatment of melasma with Pycnogenol®. Phytother Res, accepted for publication.
4. Packer L, Rimbach G, Virgili F. Antioxidant activity and biologic properties of a procyanidin-rich extract from pine (Pinus maritima) bark, Pycnogenol®. Free Rad Biol Med 27(5/6): 704-724, 1999.
5. Rihn B, Saliou C, Bottin MC, Keith G, Packer L. From ancient remedies to modern therapeutics: Pine bark uses in skin disorders revisited. Phytother Res 15: 76-78, 2001.
6. Saliou C, Rimbach G, Moini H, McLaughlin L, Hosseini S, Lee J, Watson RR, Packer L. Solar ultraviolet-induced erythema in human skin and nuclear factor-kappa-B-dependent gene expression in keratinocytes are modulated by a French maritime pine bark extract. Free Rad Biol Med 30(2): 154-160, 2001.
7. Tixier JM, Godeau G, Robert AM, Hornebeck W. Evidence by in vivo and in vitro studies that binding of Pycnogenol to elastin affects its rate of degradation by elastase. Biochem Pharmacol 33: 3933-3939, 1984.

Pycnogenol® normalizes blood pressure

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

High blood pressure is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular diseases leading to stroke and heart infarction. A blood pressure exceeding normal values of <140/90 mmHg accounts for 40,000 deaths annualy in the Unites States (Levy et al., 1996). Blood pressure is known to increase with age, from an age of thirty to 65 years the blood pressure increases in average by 20 mmHg systolic and 10 mmHg diastolic. More than 50% of hypertensive patients are aged above 65 years (Zannad, 2000). Other contributing factors are obesity and chronic mental stress, such as job stress resulting from high demand at work in combination with low control (Pickering, 2001).

Ronald Watson PhD, of the College of Public Health in Tucson, Arizona, has discovered that the dietary supplement Pycnogenol®, the extract of French maritime pine bark, significantly reduces blood pressure (Hosseini et al., 2001). Pycnogenol® is the powerful antioxidant with a wealth of additional functions for maintaining a healthy circulation.

Dr. Watson investigated 11 subjects with an average age of fifty years having mild hypertension, systolic blood pressure of 140-159 mmHg, and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90-99 mgHg. People with a blood pressure within this range are diagnosed as stage I hypertensive (Joint Nacional Committe, 1997). Stage I hypertension is not routinely treated with standard drugs and the participants in this study refrained from using any medication.

Dr. Watson gave volunteers 200 mg Pycnogenol® per day for eight weeks in a placebo controlled, double blind, crossover study design. The outcome of the study was that Pycnogenol® reduced systolic blood pressure to 134 mmHg, and reduced diastolic blood pressure to 94 mmHg. The reduction of systolic blood pressure by Pycnogenol® treatment was shown to be statistically significant as compared to supplementation with placebo. Separate analysis of the four patients with the highest systolic blood pressure (average 150 mmHg) revealed that Pycnogenol® was particularly effective by decreasing their average value to 135 mmHg.

Dr. Watson believes that Pycnogenol's ability to elevate production of a substance called nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for the reduction of blood pressure. Muscles surrounding blood vessels control their diameter and in consequence the blood flow and pressure. While stress hormones instruct these muscles to constrict (reducing diameter and increasing blood pressure), NO does the contrary and relaxes these muscles. Dr. Fitzpatrick (University of South Florida, Tampa) has shown that Pycnogenol® counteracts the action of stress hormones by elevating production of NO to more efficiently expand blood vessels and improve blood flow (Fitzpatrick, 1998).

Pycnogenol® did not only reduce blood pressure in patients. Dr. Watson found that the amounts of an important blood parameter, thromboxane, was reduced after treatment with Pycnogenol®. Thromboxane is triggering increased constriction of blood vessels and at the same time instructing blood platelets to turn sticky. Both of these processes may ultimately lead to formation of a blood clot which in turn may clog a constricted blood vessel. This is the process responsible for causing heart infarction and stroke.

In previous studies Dr. Watson had demonstrated in human volunteers that Pycnogenol® prevents the aggregation of blood platelets (Pütter et al., 1999). Taking all clinical evidence together Pycnogenol® represents the supplement of choice for an allround protection of the cardiovascular system. Pycnogenol® prevents oxidation of cholesterol, prevents platelet aggregation, releases constricted blood vessels, improves blood circulation and reduces blood pressure.

1. Hosseini S, Lee J, Sepulveda RT, Fagan T, Rohdewald P, Watson RR. A Randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, prospective, 16 week crossover study to determine the role of Pycnogenol in modifying blood pressure in mildly hypertensive patients. Nutr Res 21(9): 67-76, 2001.
2. Levy D, Larson MG, Vasan RS, Kannel WB, Ho KL. The progression from hypertension to congestive heart failure. JAMA 275: 1557-1562, 1996.
3. Zannad F. The potential advantages of a modern antihypertensive therapy in the elderly. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 35(Suppl 1):19-23, 2000.
4. Pickering TG. Mental stress as a causal factor in the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Curr Hypertens Rep 3: 249-254, 2001.
5. Joint National Committee. The sixth report at the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Arch Intern Med 157: 2413-2446, 1997.
6. Fitzpatrick DF, Bing B, Rohdewald P. Endothelium dependent vascular effects of Pycnogenol. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 32: 509-515, 1998.
7. Pütter M, Grotemeyer KH, Würthwein G, Araghi-Niknam N, Watson RR, Rohdewald P. Inhibition of smoking-induced platelet aggregation by aspirin and Pycnogenol. Thromb Res 95: 155-162, 1999.