Original Pycnogenol®: A Unique Active Ingredient Complex
Backed by 40 years of research, 160 published clinical studies, and 420 scientific publications, Pycnogenol® is the most extensively researched OPC compound. It is also one of the most widely used nutritional supplements. As well as oligomeric procyanidins (OPCs), this high-quality pine bark extract contains antioxidants, taxifolin, catechins, and a wide range of organic acids that make it a unique active ingredient complex that is effective even in low doses and is often referred to as a super antioxidant. The Pycnogenol® website also offers its own dosage calculator, which is informed by research.
Pycnogenol® and Prof. Dr. Jacques Masquelier
In 1948, French pharmacologist Prof. Dr. Jacques Masquelier discovered a special group of polyphenols on the brown skin of peanuts. This group was initially named “pycnogenols”, but later became known scientifically as “oligomeric procyanidins” (OPC). The name Pycnogenol® is now a protected and registered trademark.
OPC
OPCs (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins, also called vitamin P) are a group of substances belonging to the flavonols, which consist of polymers of catechins and epicatechins. Proanthocyanidins are present in a whole range of fruits and plants, including the seeds and skins of grapes, in berries and citrus fruits, but also in the protective bark layer of trees.
The various proanthocynidins are categorised by their number of units (e.g., monomer for one unit, dimer for two). The exact definition of OPC is unclear and may include only di- to tetramers, di- to pentamers, di- to hexamers, or even all proanthocyanidins except monomers.
For a long time, only the dimers (consisting of two units) and the trimers (consisting of three units) were considered to be bioactive. However, this has since been disproven, allowing a complex interaction of all components of the grape seed extract (including the polymeric proanthicyanidins such as hexamers and heptamers) to be used. OPC compounds are contained in large quantities, especially in pine bark and grape seeds, in which the individual proanthocyanidins differ from each other both in form and in their effect. There is also a notable amount of vital proanthocyanidin-B3-3'-O-gallate in grape seed extract.
Vitamin C
Each capsule also contains 300mg of vitamin C. This vitamin is naturally occuring in pine bark, grapes and other sources of oligomeric proanthocyanidins. OPCs are not particularly bioavailable, so combining them with vitamin C can be very helpful.
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), vitamin C contributes to:
- The reduction of tiredness and fatigue
- Normal cognitive function
- The regeneration of the reduced form of vitamin E
- Normal energy metabolism
- Normal immune system function
- The normal function of the nervous system
- Protecting cells against oxidative stress
- Normal collagen formation for normal blood vessel function
- Normal collagen formation for normal bone function
- Normal collagen formation for normal cartilage function
- Normal collagen formation for normal dental function
- Normal collagen formation for normal gum function
- Normal collagen formation for normal skin function
- Iron absorption
- Maintaining normal immune system function both during and after intense physical activity
