The nutraceutical pycnogenol: Its role in cardiovascular health and blood glucose control

Abstract

Pycnogenol® (a registered trademark of Horphag Research Ltd.) is French maritime pine bark extract of the outer bark of Pinus pinaster Ait. Subsp. atlantica. Its specifications are described in the USP 28 - Dietary supplements. Pycnogenol has strong antioxidant profile proven by in vitro and in vivo studies and further confirmed in clinical trials. Its strong antioxidant profile, vasodilator activity, antithrombotic effect and collagen stabilizing property make it a unique health product. In humans, Pycnogenol has been shown to lower blood pressure in mild to moderate hypertensive individuals and blood glucose levels in diabetics. In this review the diverse biological effects of Pycnogenol are presented and discussed using a target-oriented approach, in health and disease conditions like edema, inflammation, chronic venous insufficiency, deep vein thrombosis, diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, and hypertension. The future trends are the continuous efforts proving its efficacy in conditions which involves oxidative stress and inflammation. Recent preliminary study utilizing "high throughput" methodology and nutrigenomics approach are able to provide a new insight into the molecular mechanism of the biological activity of this botanical sourced nutraceutical. © Bulgarian Society for Cell Biology.