Pine Bark Extract Proanthocyanidins and Pine Bark Uses.

What Is Pine Bark Extract?What Is OPCs Pine Bark Extract?

Pine Bark Extract INCI Name Pinetree extract CAS 000000-14-0 French Marine Pine Bark Extract French Maritime Pine Bark Extract Leucoanthocyanidins OPC Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins PCO Pinus maritima Pinus pinaster Procyandiol Oligomers Procyanodolic Oligomers Pycnogenol Pygenol Pine Bark Extract.Proanthocyanidins Pinus Strobus Bark extract.Proanthocyanidin B2 photo picture image Pycnogenol is a patented (and very expensive) form of pine bark extract that is aggressively marketed by lots of different vendors.

The active ingredients in these products are proanthocyanidins or flavan-3-ols, and don't ask me how to pronounce those words.These chemicals come from a class of protective compounds that we normally get in fruits and vegetables. Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) have a number of properties. First, they appear to help Vitamin C work better in the brain. Vitamin C is needed for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters norepinephirine, dopamine and serotonin, which are involved with ADD. Vitamin C also protects the brain against free-radical damage, so the Vitamin C/OPC combination acts as an antioxident. Vitamin C also helps the body chelate toxic heavy metals so that they can be flushed from the body. This is all coming from the book cited below, so don't be thinking I actually understand it.

OPCs also act as natural anti-histamines, block inflammation and boost the immune system. They also reportedly affect the metabolic enzymes that regulate neurotransmitters, and they appear to inhibit the breakdown of norepinephrine and dopamine. Some recent studies have shown that ADD is associated with a faster than average reuptake (breakdown) of dopamine, so perhaps this is the most important factor in how OPCs help.

Masquelier termed the active components of the pine bark "pycnogenols". This term was used to described an entire complex of proanthocyanidin complexes found in a variety of plants including pine bark, grape seed, lemon tree bark, peanuts, cranberries and citrus peels. The term "pycnogenols" is now considered obsolete in the scientific community to describe these compounds giving way to the terms proanthocyanidins, oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes(OPCs) and procyanidolic oligomers(PCO).

An alternative source for PCOs is Pycnogenol (pik-NODGE-en-all), the brand name for a PCO derived from the bark of the maritime pine. Experts compare its health benefits to those of grape seed extract, and in fact many research studies examining the therapeutic effects of PCOs have relied on the use of Pycnogenol. It's more expensive than grape seed extract, however.