Pine bark extract may help joints and heart
Lee Swanson Research Update
An extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree may reduce markers of inflammation in people with osteoarthritis.
According to the new findings of joint German and Italian research, published in the journal Redox Reports, supplements of Pycnogenol may be able to reduce levels of a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, sufficiently to prevent a "spill-over" of the inflammatory marker from the joints to the whole body.
"The decrease of systemic inflammatory markers, particularly CRP, suggests Pycnogenol properties may be potent enough to arrest the spread of inflammation from osteoarthritic joints to the whole organisms," said Dr. Peter Rohdewald, a lead researcher of the study.
"When inflammatory processes are allowed to reach the whole body the degenerative processes may burden overall health, including increased cardiovascular risks," Dr. Rohdewald added. CRP is reported to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular-related events.
The study supports and expands earlier results from other studies published in the journal Phytotherapy Research (22:518-523, 2008) and the journal Nutrition Research (27:692-697, 2007).
In the current study, the researchers recruited a sub-set of 55 patients from a larger osteoarthritis study involving 156 people with significantly elevated CRP levels. The subjects received either two daily doses of 50 mg of Pycnogenol or a placebo for three months.
Rohdewald and his co-workers report that people receiving the pine bark extract experienced significant reductions in CRP levels from an average of 3.9 mg/L at the start of the study to 1.1 mg/L after three months. The researchers also found that plasma free radicals were significantly decreased to 70.1% of baseline values. On the other hand, people in the placebo group experienced "only marginal and non-significant effects," they said.
The researchers concluded: "This is the first indication of Pycnogenol’s effects on CRP levels, but the physiological mechanism remains unknown at this point. Our study indicates the need for further investigation on the mechanisms involved in the lowering of CRP levels by Pycnogenol. Specific, targeted studies should be considered for detailed evaluation of Pycnogenol to local inflammation of osteoarthritic joints."
Redox Report 13(6):271-276, 2008
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