Pycnogenol is the purest form of maritime pine bark extract available, and is the primary active ingredient in Arborvitae’s range of natural supplements.
Click on the image above to read the full Respiratory Health report by Horphag Research
Pycnogenol offers help for the management of hay fever and asthma.
Airway obstruction and symptoms in asthma and hay fever alike are the result of inappropriate responses of the body‘s immune system towards instances which are mistakenly perceived as harmful. Allergens causing these reactions to the respiratory system are most commonly pollen, dust, and animal hair. When an allergic person comes into contact with an allergen, a particular subset of the immune system, the mast cells, release the tissue-hormone histamine.Pycnogenol normalizes immune response
In human studies Pycnogenol has shown diverse anti-inflammatory activity [Grimm et al., 2006]. Blood from human Pycnogenol consumers was found to inhibit the inflammatory “main switch” NF-kB by in average 15%. The expression of a majority of pro-inflammatory genes is governed by NF-kB, such as leukotrienes, cytokines and adhesion molecules. Some of these molecules are known to play a role in the onset of asthma. The partial inhibition of NF-kB lowers the sensitivity level for triggering an immune response, which will help prevent an asthmatic attack.
Pycnogenol has antihistaminic potency
Pycnogenol was found to dose-dependently inhibit the release of histamine from mast cells challenged with an irritant [Sharma et al., 2002]. Pycnogenol will thus help prevent an immediate immune reaction towards challenge with an antigen as it occurs in hay fever. Interestingly, in these experiments with mast cells Pycnogenol was found to be at least as effective for blocking histamine release as a widely used pharmaceutical anti-histaminic remedy: sodium chromoglycate.
Pycnogenol for management of asthma
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study has investigated the effect of Pycnogenol in 22 patients (18- 50 year of age), suffering from asthma since 1 and up to 16 years [Hosseini et al., 2001]. Patients were randomly assigned to either the Pycnogenol group, receiving 1 mg/lb/day (without exceeding 200 mg/day), or to the group receiving placebo for 4 weeks.
Other respiratory health benefits and insights covered in the report:
If you would like to receive our monthly newsletters and details on promotions / discounted offers, please provide your email address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Arborvitae available in New Zealand! 
Pycnogenol®, Arborvitae and Respiratory Health
Pycnogenol®, Arborvitae and Respiratory Health
