pycnogenol3.docx

1、pycnogenol3碧蘿芷Pycnogenol的基本特性抗發炎Anti-inflammatory action, a basic property of PycnogenolP. Rohdewald1Pycnogenol, French maritime pine bark extract, (Horphag Research Sales Ltd.)Inflammation may start in every part of our body. Any time when the word describing a disease ends with - itis, its an infl

2、ammatory disease: a dermatitis means an inflammation of the skin, an arthritis an inflammation of joints, an othitis an inflammation of the ear. These inflammations are acute, painful diseases. However, inflammation at a lower, but chronic level accompanying many diseases is not registered as an inf

3、lammation in the mind of the normal patient, he is not that informed that asthma, allergies, cancer and many other diseases are associated with inflammatory processes.Some cells of the human body, acting as our defensive army, fight invading bacteria and viruses with chemical weapons, causing inflam

4、mation. They also may destroy cancer cells by attacking these cells with a deadly cocktail of substances acting within a short distance. Such inflammatory reactions are in principle good for our body, however, if these inflammatory processes get out of control, result could be a chronic disease, as

5、asthma, the chronic inflammation of the lung, or a virulent inflammation for example of the teeth, producing a very painful inflammation.Pycnogenol, the very special extract from the French maritime pine bark, is a broad acting, versatile weapon against inflammatory processes.The constituents of Pyc

6、nogenol interfere on many important strategic points to control inflammation.The arsenal of inflammatory substances produced in our body is impressing: It reaches from very small free radicals up to a collection of proteins triggering pain, swellings, reddening and heat: the symptoms that coined the

7、 word inflammation.Inactivation of free radicals produced during inflammation by PycnogenolFirst of all, Pycnogenol activates our cells to produce more antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase thereby doubling the amount of antioxidative defense products (Bayeta et al., 2000; Maritim et a

8、l., 2003). Pycnogenol, circulating in the blood stream, inactivates free radicals also directly as a second line of defense. Blood of volunteers has a higher activity in scavenging free radicals after intake of Pycnogenol compared to test begin Fig. 1 (Devaraj et al., 2002). Also diseases caused by

9、a deregulation of the immune system can cause inflammatory processes, as for example in the auto-immune disease lupus erythematosus. Intake of Pycnogenol could down-regulate the production of free oxygen radicals from inflammatory cells which contribute to a persistent chronic inflammation (Stefanes

10、cu et al., 2001).Exposition to free radicals leads to damage of our DNA. Pycnogenol, by inactivating the free radicals, protects DNA in the test tube (Nelson et al., 1998) as well as in hyperactive children exposed to oxidative stress (Durackova et al., 2004). Degradation products of DNA in urine, i

11、ndicating the free radical-induced damage, are found in lower amounts when children took Pycnogenol Fig. 2.Protection against protein-destroying enzymes during inflammation with PycnogenolA cocktail of enzymes called proteinases is secreted during inflammation to break down the cellular walls of inv

12、ading microorganism or foreign cells. These enzymes attack specifically collagen or elastin, which are important proteins for stability of our tissue. An over-production of proteinases in chronic inflammation causes destruction of our bodys own tissue and has to be stopped. Pycnogenol inhibits the a

13、ctivity of these enzymes and blocks also the release of these proteases from inflammatory cells (Grimm et al., 2004) Fig. 3.Blocking of inflammatory mediators with PycnogenolAnother kind of inflammatory substances are derivates from arachidonic acid. Thromboxane, prostaglandins and leukotrienes belo

14、ng to this group, possessing very unpleasant properties. Some prostaglandins may produce pain, they are most probably involved in pre-menstrual pain.It could be demonstrated that Pycnogenol is able to reduce pain and use of analgesics in patients complaining from pre-menstrual pain and endometriosis

15、 (Kohama and Suzuki, 1999, Kohama et al., 2004).Thromboxane is also generated from arachidonic acid in the body. It causes constriction of bronchi and blood vessels and produces clumping of blood platelets, which contributes to atherosclerosis. Intake of Pycnogenol lowers concentrations of thromboxa

16、ne in blood of hypertensive patients, thus protecting the blood vessels against the deleterious effects of thromboxane (Hosseini et al., 2001 A).Leukotrienes are inflammatory substances produced during allergic reactions or chronic inflammation in the lung. They are causing a strong bronchoconstrict

17、ion, thereby initiating asthmatic attacks. The supplementation of adult asthmatic patients with Pycnogenol could lower not only the leukotriene concentrations, but, improved lung function and decreased asthma symptoms (Hosseini et al., 2001 B) Fig. 4.Also in children, supplementation with Pycnogenol

18、 reduced significantly leukotriene concentrations compared to placebo Fig. 5. Some of the asthmatic children became symptom-free, they needed less medication beside Pycnogenol and their lung function improved continuously (Lau et al., 2004).OutlookBecause inflammation is involved in so many patholog

19、ical processes one can expect that Pycnogenol will demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects in a wide range of other diseases. It should help the body to find the balance between an effective defense against invaders, re-enforcing its immune-system (Liu et al., 1998), and an elevated, dangerous or path

20、ologic state of overreacting inflammatory cells.Any inflammation is considered today as process stimulating atherosclerosis and, in last consequence, cardiovascular diseases.Hypothetically, a steady intake of anti-inflammatory substances should protect against cardiovascular events such as heart inf

21、arction or stroke. There is certain body of evidence from epidemiological studies that risk of cardiovascular disease is lower the more anti-inflammatory medication has been used during the whole life. In that context, supplementation with Pycnogenol may contribute to our cardiovascular health, addi

22、tional to its actions against a specific inflammation of a certain organ, as for example skin or lung.References:1. Bayeta E, Benjamin MS and Lau BHS. Pycnogenol inhibits generation of inflammatory mediators in macrophages. Nutrition Research 20: 249-259, 2000.2. Maritim A, Dene BA, Sanders RA, Watk

23、ins JB. Effects of Pycnogenol treatment on oxidative stress in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. J Biochem Mol Tox 17: 193-199, 2003. 3. Devaraj S, Vega-Lpez S, Kaul N, Schnlau F, Rohdewald P, Jialal I. Supplementation with a pine bark extract rich in polyphenols increases plasma antioxidant cap

24、acity and alters the plasma lipoprotein profile. Lipids 37: 931-934, 2002.4. Stefanescu M, Matache C, Onu A, Tanaseanu S, Dragomir C, Constantinescu I, Schnlau F, Rohdewald P, Szegli G. Pycnogenol efficacy in the treatment of systemic Lupus erythematosus patients. Phytother Res 15: 698-704, 2001.5.

25、Durackova Z, Muchova J, Sivonova M, Chovanova Z, Hauserova M, Blazicek P, Trebaticka J and Rohdewald P. Oxidative stress in pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its influence by a polyphenolic natural extract, Pycnogenol. 2004 in Polyphenols Communications 2004, Hoikkala A

26、 and Soidinsalo O. Edts, Hummerus Printing, Jyvskyl Finland p. 177-178.6. Grimm T, Schfer A, Hgger P. Antioxidant activity and inhibition of matrix-metalloproteinases by metabolites of maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol). Free Rad Biol Med 36: 811-822, 2004.7. Kohama T, Suzuki N, The treatment o

27、f gynaecological disorders with Pycnogenol. Eur Bull Drug Res 7(2): 30-32,1999.8. Kohama T, Suzuki N, Ohno S, Inoue M. Analgesic efficacy of Pycnogenol in dysmenorrhea. An open clinical trial. J Reprod Med 49(10): 828-832, 2004.9. Hosseini S, Lee J, Sepulveda RT, Fagan T, Rohdewald P, Watson RR. A R

28、andomized, double blind, placebo controlled, prospective, 16 week crossover study to determine the role of Pycnogenol in modifying blood pressure in mildly hypertensive patients. Nutr Res 21(9): 67-76, 2001.10. Hosseini S, Pishnamazi S, Sadrzadeh SMH, Farid F, Farid R, Watson RR. Pycnogenol in the m

29、anagement of asthma. J Med Food 4(4): 201-209, 2001.11. Lau BHS, Riesen SK, Truong KP, Lau EW, Rohdewald P, Barreta RA. Pycnogenol as an adjunct in the management of childhood asthma. J Asthma 41: 825-832, 2004.12. Liu FJ, Zhang YX, Lau BHS. Pycnogenol enhances immune and haemopoietic function in se

30、nescence-accelerated mice. Cell Mol Life Sci 54: 1168-1172, 1998. 13. SaliouFig. 1 Increase of antioxidative capacity of blood during supplementation with Pycnogenol compared to pre-treatment and post-treatment period (Devaraj et al.)Fig. 2 Lowered excretion of degradation product of DNA in urine of

31、 children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder after supplementation with Pycnogenol (Durackova et al.)Fig. 3 Oral intake of Pycnogenol protects skin against UV-radiation. Higher UV-doses are necessary to produce reddening of the skin (erythema dose) (Saliou et al.)Fig. 4 Decreased leukotriene-levels - and increased lung function (FEV1) in asthmatic children following supplementation with Pycnogenol (Lau et al.)