Pycnogenol Pine Bark Extract Found More Effective than Drug for CVI.

Supplementation with an extract of French maritime pine bark reduced symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) more effectively than did Daflon, a primary pharmaceutical remedy, according to results from a study published recently in the Journal of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hematosis (12,2:205-12, 2006). CVI is caused when leg veins cannot effectively pump blood back to the heart. Individuals develop CVI when, due to inactivity, blood pools in the leg veins and legs and ankles become swollen. Eventually, the valves cannot hold the weight of excessive blood, which then adds more pressure onto the valves below. Ultimately, the inability to prevent the liquid in the blood from seeping into the tissue causes edema, a common symptom of CVI.

In the study, a group of 86 patients with severe CVI, venous hypertension, ankle swelling and previous history of venous ulcerations received eight weeks of either oral Pycnogenol (150 mg or 300 mg daily) or Daflon (1,000 mg/day). After eight weeks, microcirculatory test results showed the Pycnogenol group had a significant reduction in edema, a decrease in capillary filtration (RAS), and an improvement in the symptomatic venous score (ASLS). Most patients in the Pycnogenol group experienced a significant level of improvement after 4 weeks of treatment, while in the Daflon group, clinical improvement was significant only in 6 subjects. After eight weeks, the positive effects from Pycnogenol were significantly greater than the Daflon group.

Researchers concluded that Pycnogenol supplementation in patients with CVI and venous microangiopathy had a greater effect on edema (leg swelling), tight calves, skin alterations, pain during walking and swelling limbs than Daflon, a drug commonly prescribed to treat CVI. Supplementation with 300 mg/d Pycnogenol did not yield significantly better effects than treatment with 150 mg/d Pycnogenol, with the exception of the composite edema score, which improved better with the higher dosage.

Bio-Design Pycnogenol Plus also provides grape seed extract and bioflavonoid complex.