Heartfelt News

What is this thing called Pycnogenol, this drug that reached number 8 in the standings of all bioceuticals (botanicals if you will) sold in the U.S. last year? It is the French maritime pine bark extract that cannot be classified as a vitamin, herb, or drug. R. A. Passwater, co-author of the book Pycnogenol: The Super Protector Nutrient, refers to the product as the super nutrient protector when it comes to the health of your heart.

Pycnogenol has also reached super popular status. Based on a survey of vitamin suppliment retailers in the U.S., some 63% of them related that they receive from one to five queries concerning Pycnogenol weekly. More than 15% of those responding noted more than 5 times weekly.

In many studies, cardiovascular disease (heart and circulatory system complaints) remains America's #1 killer, causing a death every 33 seconds in the country. That is approximately 936,000 deaths yearly. Heart attacks account for one-third of the deaths which include 50% women, a figure most Americans find shocking. Pycnogenolmay be invaluable in strengthening the cardiovascular system.

A study conducted by David F Fitzpatrick, associate professor in U of South Florida College of Medicine, Dept. of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Tampa, Florida, showed that the bioceutical suppliment improved blood flow by increasing the production of Nitrous Oxide during stress, thus causing the blood vessels to relax. Relaxed vessels have a larger lumen (hole) through which blood flows thus reducing pressure. The Nitrous Oxide may also be part of a mechanism that prevents agglutination (clumping) of platelets.

As noted by several in "Endothelial dependent vascular effects of Pycnogenol" (Cardiovasc Pharmacol, Sept 1998): "This nutritional suppliment contains compounds capable of producing a variety of potentially protective effects against chronic age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and the cardiovascular consequences of the disease." The production of, and benefits attributed to Nitrous Oxide have been corroborated by Sara Kurlandsky, Senior Scientist, Henkel Corporation Nutrition and Health Group. The studies show that Pycnogenol also protects collagen and elastin in capillaries, thus improving capillary integrity, and promotes the relaxation of smooth arterial musculature which in turn allows for better blood flow in the smallest of vessels.

In a study concluded in 1997, Fitzpatrick concluded that Pycnogenol also assisted in the decrease of LDL (low density lipoprotein) oxidation along with its other benefits. The bioceutical also counteracted the negative effects of stress hormones on the circulatory system. The effects of stress hormones on the cardiovascular system are another cause of heart disease. Fitzpatrick concludes the studies performed and results noted have promising implications for the continued and increasing use of Pycnogenol in treating some heart conditions.

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