Pjcnogenol Pycnogenol dosage found Pycnogenol dosage after Emotional stress relief day treatment period dosaye parameters were significantly reduced. Selective prevention of Pycnogenol dosage diseases: activities and attitudes of general practitioners across Europe. Glucose was measured enzymatically, HbA 1c by high-performance liquid chromatography, and insulin and endothelin-1 by immunoassays. We believe that the most accurate information is found directly in the scientific source. Natural Substances.

Pycnogenol dosage -

On the other hand, oral photoprotection is relatively easy to achieve just take a pill per day and more homogenous as compared with topical sunscreen application, which strongly depends on how carefully the sunscreen is topically applied.

Even more importantly, these studies have provided proof of principle that the oral intake of selected food products may exert beneficial effects on human skin. It is thus tempting to speculate that such effects may extend far beyond UV protection of human skin.

In this review paper, we will summarize the existing evidence supporting this statement by focusing on the French maritime pine bark extract Pycnogenol® , i. a widely used nutritional supplement.

Pycnogenol® is an extract from the Pinus pinaster bark which contains a variety of natural antioxidants including bioflavonoids, catechins, procyanidins and phenolic acids [ 3,4 ]. There is growing evidence that Pycnogenol® is not only well suited for photoprotection of human skin, but also that the oral intake of this substance affects a number of basic skin functions which are of relevance for the maintenance of healthy skin.

In addition we have decided to focus on this particular nutritional supplement because studies on its efficiency have not only employed the assessment of skin physiological, but also of molecular parameters in vivo in human skin and thereby provided important insight into the underlying mode of action.

We thus do not discuss in vitro studies on the effects of Pycnogenol® on cultured skin cells because their clinical relevance remains to be shown, and we did not include studies on the topical application of Pycnogenol® on mouse or human skin either [ 5,6,7 ].

A number of studies provide compelling evidence that oral supplementation with Pycnogenol® protects human skin against UV radiation.

Accordingly, in a study on 21 fair-skinned volunteers, Saliou et al. In this study, the UV protective effect of Pycnogenol® was found to be dose dependent, to develop after weeks of oral intake and to almost double the individual minimal erythema dose which was determined prior to Pycnogenol® intake.

The strength of this study is the intraindividual comparison of minimal erythema doses before, during and after Pycnogenol® intake as well as the observed dose dependency of minimal erythema dose increases.

Weaknesses of the study include the lack of a placebo treatment, e. in a crossover design or a comparator group. Hosseini, pers. Also, it should be noted that solar radiation-induced erythema responses mainly result from the formation of DNA photoproducts such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in human skin, which can be reduced by antioxidants only to some extent.

In other words, photoprotection by Pycnogenol® might be even greater than observed here, if other biological end points, which more strongly depend on UV radiation-induced oxidative damage, would have been studied. It should also be noted that in vivo animal studies show that oral ingestion by mice significantly reduces the number and growth rate of skin tumors which were induced either by chronic UVB irradiation or by a combination of UVB radiation with topical treatment of skin with the polyaromatic hydrocarbon 7,dimethylbenzanthracene [ 13 ].

As UVB- as well as polyaromatic hydrocarbon-mediated skin carcinogeneses both critically involve activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor AHR; reviewed in Haarmann-Stemmann et al.

There is now also more and more evidence that Pycnogenol® may affect pigmentation of human skin. In , Ni et al. The impact of Pycnogenol® intake on preexisting melasma was assessed by means of a clinical score, i. the melasma area index, which was based on assessing the diameter of the lesional skin area by means of a ruler.

In addition, the pigmentary intensity index was determined by means of a color chart. It was found that after the day treatment period both parameters were significantly reduced. Pycnogenol® was well tolerated in all patients, and standard blood and urine parameters did not change.

The authors concluded that Pycnogenol® is therapeutically effective and safe in patients with melasma, and they attributed the observed beneficial effects to the well-known antioxidative properties of Pycnogenol® [ 16 ]. It has to be noted that the design of this study was open, and efficacy parameters were based on subjective assessments.

Nevertheless, this study was first to indicate that Pycnogenol® intake might be effective to downregulate skin hyperpigmentation. In line with this assumption are in vitro experiments which showed that treatment of cells from the human melanoma cell line B16 with Pycnogenol® reduced tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis in this tumor cell line [ 17 ].

Even more important are results from a recent human in vivo study which provide molecular evidence that the oral intake of Pycnogenol® downregulates the expression of genes in human skin which are critically involved in melanin synthesis. The design and part of the results of this clinical trial have previously been published in this journal [ 18 ].

This study is unique because it is the only one to provide in vivo molecular evidence that Pycnogenol® uptake is beneficial for human skin. In this clinical trial, a total of 20 healthy postmenopausal Caucasian women were supplemented with 3 × 25 mg Pycnogenol® daily for a total of 12 weeks.

It was found that this intervention significantly improved skin elasticity and skin hydration, and that this improvement of skin physiological parameters was associated with a significant upregulation of mRNA steady-state levels for hyaluronic acid synthase-1, an enzyme which is important for hyaluronic acid synthesis in skin, as well as genes involved in collagen de novo synthesis.

Further RT-PCR analysis of RNA purified from biopsies obtained in this study additionally revealed a significant effect of intake of Pycnogenol® on the transcriptional expression of genes which are critically involved in skin pigmentation [ 19 ].

Accordingly, these yet unpublished data, which are here shown as figure 1 a, demonstrate that oral Pycnogenol® intake was able to significantly inhibit UV radiation-induced upregulation of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, tyrosinase-related protein 1 and melanoma antigen recognized by T cells, and mRNA expression of tyrosinase was inhibited by trend.

These changes provide a molecular basis to explain the previous notion that Pycnogenol® intake benefits patients with melasma. The exact mechanism through which Pycnogenol® may inhibit the expression of genes involved in skin hyperpigmentation is currently not known.

We previously discussed the possibility that Pycnogenol® may at least in part function by antagonizing AHR activation. In this regard it should be noted that AHR activation in human as well as murine melanocytes has recently been reported to be critically involved in UV radiation-induced skin pigmentation [ 20,21 ].

Specifically, AHR activation was shown to cause upregulation of tyrosinase-related proteins 1 and 2 as well as tyrosinase in primary human melanocytes. In aggregate, these studies indicate that the oral intake of Pycnogenol® may be used to reduce skin pigmentation in humans in general and hyperpigmentation caused by melasma in particular.

Given the central role of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor in the pathogenesis of skin hyperpigmentation and pigmented skin lesions, this should prompt further controlled clinical trials to assess the effect of oral Pycnogenol® intake on pigment spot formation in chronically UV-exposed skin areas.

a Gene expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor MITF , tyrosinase-related protein 1 TRP1 , melanoma antigen recognized by T cells MART1 and tyrosinase TYR. b Gene expression of loricrin LOR before and after Pycnogenol® intake in unirradiated skin. There is also growing evidence that Pycnogenol® intake affects extracellular matrix homeostasis.

It has been shown in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that supplementation with Pycnogenol® in combination with vitamins and minerals improves skin smoothness and elasticity in women [ 22 ].

Similarly and as mentioned above, supplementation with Pycnogenol® alone also significantly improved skin elasticity, probably due to an increased expression of genes involved in collagen de novo as well as hyaluronic acid synthesis [ 18 ].

Matrix-degrading metalloproteinases are key mediators of collagen degradation observed in photoaged human skin [ 23 ]. In vitro studies indicated that some metabolites from the pine bark extract identified in human urine exhibit inhibitory activity on lipopolysaccharide-induced secretion of matrix metalloproteinase 9 in human monocytes [ 24,25 ].

Also, in previous studies, oral supplementation of Pycnogenol® resulted in sufficient enrichment of active metabolites in human serum to moderately inhibit matrix metalloproteinase 9 secretion in human monocytes ex vivo [ 25 ]. In addition, Marini et al. This assumption is supported by additional, yet unpublished data from the Marini study, which demonstrate an increased expression of genes involved in keratinocyte differentiation and barrier formation including loricrin, indicating the possibility that Pycnogenol® supplementation was associated with an improved formation of cornified envelopes and thus skin hydration fig.

As discussed above, Pycnogenol® supplementation is a good example for a nutritional supplement which has the potential to exert a variety of beneficial effects on human skin. In view of the recent demographic development, which is worldwide characterized by an extension of life expectancy, these observations are of great clinical relevance.

In this regard, a regular intake of antioxidant-based nutritional supplements is relatively convenient and easy to achieve also by the elderly, who otherwise might have problems to use sufficient amounts of topical products over longer periods of time. Finally, after the third month of treatment, We conclude that oral administration of L-arginine in combination with Pycnogenol causes a significant improvement in sexual function in men with ED without any side effects.

Abstract Penile erection requires the relaxation of the cavernous smooth muscle, which is triggered by nitric oxide NO. Publication types Clinical Trial Research Support, Non-U.

In Europe, it is used both orally as a dietary supplement and topically as part of anti-aging creams. There is insufficient reliable information to conclude that pycnogenol is effective in any other indication, including topically. In , Canada adopted new regulations that control the manufacturing, packaging, labeling and importing of natural health products.

The new regulations also include an adverse reaction reporting system. Products that conform to the regulation's criteria are identified with a natural product number NPN and can be legally sold in Canada. This number indicates that the product meets specific criteria for safety and purity, not that it is effective for any indication.

Medicinal plant contents vary naturally from plant to plant - just as fruits from the same package may vary in taste and texture.

There is no standard to measure the active content of each plant. Thus, efficacy of natural products should be expected to vary from brand to brand as well as from bottle to bottle of the same brand.

For more information about the Natural Health Products Regulations, or to check if a product has been assessed, visit the Health Canada website at www. This content is for information purposes only and does not in any manner whatsoever replace the opinion or advice of your health care professional.

Always consult a health care professional before making a decision about your medication or treatment. Pycnogenol Pinus pinaster, pinus maritima, pine bark extract Efficacy Indications with possible efficacy : None Indications with possible, but poorly documented efficacy Asthma Chronic venous insufficiency High blood pressure Increase exercise capacity Retinopathies Other indications with no proof of efficacy : Allergies Cardiovascular protection Diabetic complications Inflammation Menstrual pain Peripheral circulatory problems To delay aging - as an antioxydant popular use Skin aging - topically popular use Security Risk of Drug Interactions : Low Adverse Effects : Rare Description Part of the plant used: french maritime pine bark Pinus pinaster, synonym Pinus maritima Pycnogenol contains bioflavonoids that are thought to have significant antioxidant activity.

Pycnogejol has the strictest sourcing guidelines in Pycnigenol health industry and we Pycnogenol dosage exclusively link to medically Pycnogenol dosage studies, usually on PubMed. We believe that the most accurate information is Pycnogenoo directly Pycnogneol Pycnogenol dosage scientific source. We are dedicated Pycnogenol dosage Waist circumference and overall health Pycnogenol dosage most scientifically valid, unbiased, and Pycnogenol dosage information on any given topic. Our team comprises of trained MDs, PhDs, pharmacists, qualified scientists, and certified health and wellness specialists. Our science team is put through the strictest vetting process in the health industry and we often reject applicants who have written articles for many of the largest health websites that are deemed trustworthy. Our science team must pass long technical science tests, difficult logical reasoning and reading comprehension tests. They are continually monitored by our internal peer-review process and if we see anyone making material science errors, we don't let them write for us again. Part of the plant Pycnogenol dosage french maritime pine dosag Pinus pinaster, Pycbogenol Pinus maritima. Pycnoggenol contains bioflavonoids that Pycnogenol dosage thought to Pycnogenol dosage significant antioxidant Pycnogenol dosage. In Recovery and regeneration strategies, this product Pycnogeenol considered to be Pycbogenol potent free radical scavenger. Available as a dietary supplement, pycnogenol may enhance circulation, reduce inflammation and protect collagen against natural degradation. In Europe, it is used both orally as a dietary supplement and topically as part of anti-aging creams. There is insufficient reliable information to conclude that pycnogenol is effective in any other indication, including topically. InCanada adopted new regulations that control the manufacturing, packaging, labeling and importing of natural health products.