Polyphenols Pycnogenol

Going back to Pycnogenol and how it helped Cartier s men fight scurvy, it took centuries to learn that the pine needles provided a small amount of vitamin C and the bark yielded vitamin C-supercharging bioflavonoids, members of the polyphenol family of plant-derived substances. In fact, it was only in 1984 that... 

Recently, some reports have led to the hypothesis that Pycnogenol could be beneficial in not only mitigating the adverse effects of anticancer chemotherapy," but possibly also inhibiting the development, growth, and progression of cancer. This activity is associated not only with the strong antioxidant capacity of the polyphenols contained in Pycnogenol, but also with its ability to modulate cell response to different stimuli. 

The use of pine bark extracts has its roots in ancient traditional medicine in different countries of the world. In general, the utilization of Pycnogenol in the past was considered suitable for many of those conditions where vitamin C deficiency is now known to be involved, such as scurvy, skin disorders, and wound heating. Ttiis utilization anticipated the understanding of the complex nature of the interaction between different antioxidants and the important role that polyphenols may play in the recycling and interplay with other antioxidants and, finally, in human health and disease. 

The most obvious feature of Pycnogenol, owing to the basic chemical structure of its components, is its strong antioxidant activity. Phenolic acids, polyphenols, and in particular flavonoids are composed of one (or more) aromatic rings bearing one or more hydroxyl groups and are therefore potentially able to quench free radicals by forming resonance-stabilized phenoxyl radicals. " The ability to quench the reactivity of... 

Details about structure, biosynthesis, and classification of phenolics are described in the other chapters in this handbook. Plant phenolics have a distinctive ability to form non-covalent, intermolecular complexes with each other and with both large and small molecules. Recognition of the antioxidant activities of many polyphenols has established correlation with the health benefits by such compounds [34]. This leads to the development of commercial products containing free-radical-scavenging phytochemical mixtures, for example, Pycnogenol (procyanidin extracted from Pinus maritima). Table 82.2 represents a list of polyphenolic compounds used in nutraceuticals and their biologic effects on human health. 

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