The Health Benefits of OPC’s

After 50 years of research regarding the health benefits of OPC's (called Pycnogenol® by the original researcher, Dr. Jacques Masquelier) any discussion of this substance and its significant health benefits will sound exaggerated. Following is a brief list of the health benefits of OPC’s (oligomeric proanthocyanidins).

• Acts as a superior antioxidant, protecting cells in the body against free radical destruction of cells.
• Lowers LDL cholesterol levels and reduces chemical alteration of LDL’s, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Reduces platelet aggregation, thus reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
• Increases the strength and elasticity of blood vessels, protecting against rupture, leakage and degeneration.
• Enhances the ability of collagen to repair itself, thereby protecting against age-related and degenerative processes.
• Inhibits swelling (edema) and inflammation.
• Relieves functional problems of varicose veins.
• Reduces discomfort associated with PMS and menopause.
• Reduces tendency toward diabetic retinopathy.
• Improves skin health by reducing damage, increasing nutrient supply and improving elasticity.
• Reduces the effects of allergies.
• Improves joint flexibility.
• Reduces the risk of more than 80 free radical related diseases.
• Reduces bruising.
• Treats chronic venous insufficiency and reduces risk of phlebitis.
• Improves skin elasticity and smoothness.
• Effective against psoriasis and protects against sun damage.
• Effective in the treatment of ADD/ADHD.
• Aids in reducing MS exacerbations.
• Has been shown effective in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
• Protects against viral infections.

THE DISCOVERY OF OPC’s

In 1947 the renowned French chemist, Jacques Masquelier chanced upon the journals of the explorer Jacques Cartier in which Cartier related how he and his crew were marooned in the St. Lawrence River by the early arrival of winter 1595. Being unprepared for the severe winter of Quebec, their food quickly ran out and there was an outbreak of scurvy that was killing his crew. A local Indian chief told Cartier that an infusion made from the bark of a pine tree would cure his crew. He tried it and recorded in his journal that his crew rapidly recovered. The story set Dr. Masquelier on the journey to find what could have been in this concoction. He knew that there could not have been enough vitamin C in the bark so he looked for something else. What he found was a mixture of bioflavonoids, including catechins and flavons, but with a particularly potent element called proanthocyanidin.

He isolated the first OPC from the red skin of the peanut and later discovered that virtually all plants, red wine and the peanut kernel itself contain oligomeric proanthocyanidins.

He coined the word Pycnogenol (from the Greek pycno meaning to condense, gen meaning to generate, and ol from the chemical name) to describe the mixture and began marketing it in Europe in the mid 1950’s.

For 50 years research and human studies conducted through scientific institutes, hospitals and clinics by dietitians and specialists has documented the positive results obtained with OPC’s. Still, the information remains new to many, including health professionals. While the pace of antioxidant research is progressing, it hasn’t been an easy accomplishment. In the 1970’s, whenever the health benefits of antioxidants were discussed, medical professionals would scoff at the idea that so many conditions could be alleviated or prevented with antioxidants. The health community did not understand how free radicals attack the body and could be the cause of over 80 diseases. Nor did they understand how antioxidant nutrients protected against free-radical damage. Without this information, it was impossible for them to understand how antioxidants protected us from so many different diseases. Thus the typical reaction was disbelief and ridicule.

Fortunately, through the years many research reports appeared in medical and scientific journals. Now cardiologists, oncologists and many other medical specialists and health professionals understand how one group of nutrients can protect us against so many different and seemingly unrelated diseases.

Interestingly, in a recent AMA survey, over 70% of practicing cardiologists admitted taking antioxidants but did not recommend them to their patients.

HOW OPC’s WORK

OPC’s are especially good at neutralizing the hydroxyl radical, the superoxide radical, singlet oxygen, and the dangerous chemical peroxynitrate. What makes peroxynitrate so dangerous is that it reacts with anything; fats, proteins, DNA, etc. It doesn’t really matter what…peroxynitrate reacts!

Excessive nitric oxide production is associated with arthritis, diabetes, stroke, septic shock, chronic inflammation and atherosclerosis. The damage it does can easily lead to gene mutations, which replicate themselves as the beginnings of cancer.

The good news is that OPC’s are exceptional at neutralizing peroxynitrate. It also reduces the amount of superoxide available that makes peroxynitrate and helps to regulate nitric oxide production so it remains in balance. That means your immune system works better, your joints hurt less and your blood flows better, all because of one single substance. Other antioxidants may help, but researchers have noticed such broad based activities are only available in OPC’s.

Researchers discovered that even when the immune system was barely working, OPC’s brought it back. Research in this direction may be very significant for those interested in autoimmune diseases.