Pine Bark Extract

Pine bark extract is a new, anti-oxidant nutritional supplement that is very popular because of its healing and prevention qualities.

The supplement is created by using the bark of a pine tree found on the coast lines of Europe, the Landes (or maritime) pine tree (Scientific name: Pinus maritima).

The pine bark extract is able to act as an antioxidant because it scavenges, or collects, reactive oxygen and nitrogen in the body, and slows the body’s production of peroxides. It also suppresses the production of free radicals in the system, and prevents the adhesion of several proteins that cause inflammation.

The bark extract is marketed under the trade name of Pycnogenol. Several studies show that the extract contains valuable proanthocyanidins that give it anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities, building up immunities and reducing inflammation and swelling caused by a variety of ailments such as gout or injury.

The pine bark extract has also been shown to have immunostimulant effect that gets the body’s natural immune system cranked up into overdrive to fight off infections and diseases. It is one of several such immunostimulant products used by people such as cancer patients and HIV patients.

There is also evidence that the preventative qualities of pine bark extract make it useful in preventing cancer altogether.

The extract is commonly used to decrease the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, and has been shown to be effective for this purpose in a variety of studies. It has also been effectively used to naturally control the symptoms of hypertension.

In fact, some HIV patients have found that pine bark extract slows the attachment of the virus and also seems to deter its replication in those infected with the virus. The extract is also known to slow down replication of the EMV virus in animals as well.

This extract is known to suppress the growth of the Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori bacteria. This spiral-shaped bacterium lives in the stomach and causes severe gastric problems, most peptic ulcers and some gastric cancer.

Pine bark extract helps to prevent the H. pylori bacteria from attaching to the gastric cells, which can help prevent ulcers and perhaps some of the other gastric symptoms.

Another reason more people are choosing to use this extract is that early studies suggest that it may be effective at reducing the symptoms of menopause in women who are transitioning into the menopause stage of their lives.

Interestingly, pine bark extract has also been shown to help with skin disorders like hyper pigmentation, or too much color in the skin, and erythema, which is too much blood flow to the skin causing redness, spots and blisters.

This supplement is a valuable new product that naturally prevents many illnesses, reduces or eliminates the symptoms of other illnesses and conditions, and helps encourage overall good health.

If you have a high risk for cancer, suffer from inflammation or gastric problems, or have HIV or are in pre-menopause, then using a pine bark extract supplement may be right for your health.