Lee Swanson Research Update

Pycnogenol Pine Bark Extract Reduces Osteoarthritis Knee Pain

April 2006

Pine bark

Pine tree bark extract known as Pycnogenol may inhibit pain and inflammation associated with arthritis, German researchers reported in a recent issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.

The clinical study, conducted at the University of Wurzburg in Germany investigated the inhibitory effects of Pycnogenol involved in the development of pain associated with arthritis. Two groups of patients were supplemented with Pycnogenol after an initial basal blood sample. The first group consisting of five patients supplemented with 200 mg of Pycnogenol for five days when another blood sample was taken. The patients’ blood samples revealed direct inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase activity. Inhibition of COX-1 was apparent in three of five study participants. A second group of 10 patients supplemented with a one-time dose of 300 mg of Pycnogenol to determine how quickly the effect was measurable. Only 30 minutes after ingestion of Pycnogenol, blood samples indicated a statistically significant increase in the inhibitory effects of both COX-1 and COX-2.

"This study suggests that Pycnogenol supplementation inhibits the enzymes involved in the development of pain associated with arthritis," said Petra Hogger, Ph.D., the lead author of the study. These study results support earlier study data on how Pycnogenol helps reduce pain associated with inflammation. Pycnogenol nonselectively lowers the activities of both COX enzymes to alleviate the inflammatory process. Pycnogenol does not selectively block one of the COX enzymes thereby disabling their respective physiologic functions in the body like other prescription and over-the-counter medications."

Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract originating from the bark of the Maritime pine that grows along the coast of southwest France and is found to contain a unique combination of procyanidins, bioflavonoids and organic acids, which offer extensive natural health benefits.

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 60(1):5-9, 2006

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