pycnogenol for respiratory health

8/12/2019 Pycnogenol for Respiratory Health

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Respiratory Health

L O O K , F E E L A N D L I V E B E T T E R


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/pycnogenol-for-respiratory-health 2/5I Horphag Research-Geneva, Switzerland I Horphag Research Asia-Shanghai, China I Natural Health Science-Hoboken NJ, USA I www.pycnogenol.com I ©HORPHAG I

Pycnogenol® normalizes immune response

n human studies Pycnogenol has shown diverse

nt - n ammatory act v ty Gr mm et a ., 2006 . B oo

rom uman Pycnogeno consumers was oun to

nhibit the inflammatory “Main switch” NF-kB by in

verage 15%. T e express on o a ma or ty o pro- n-

ammatory genes s governe y NF- B, suc as eu-otrienes, cytokines and adhesion molecules. Some of

ese mo ecu es are nown to p ay a ro e n t e onset

ast ma. T e part a n t on o NF- B owers t e

ensitivity level for triggering an immune response,

w c w e p prevent an ast mat c attac . Fo ow-

ng consumpt on o Pycnogeno act vate mmune

ells from human volunteers secreted significantly less

onnect ve t ssue egra ng enzymes matr x meta -

oprote nases MMP-9 Gr mm et a ., 2006 . T ese

nzymes greatly affect pulmonary function of asth-at c pat ents. For eta e n ormat on p ease re er

o - .

Pycnogenol® has antihistaminic potency

ycnogeno was oun to ose- epen ent y n t

he release of histamine from mast cells challenged

w t an rr tant S arma et a ., 2002 . Pycnogeno

w t us e p prevent an mme ate mmune reac-

ion towards challenge with an antigen as it occurs

n ay- ever. Interest ng y, n t ese exper ments w tast ce s Pycnogeno was oun to e at east as

e ect ve or oc ng stam ne re ease as a w e y

used pharmaceutical anti-histaminic remedy: sodium

c romog ycate.

Pycnogenol® for management of asthma

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study

as nvest gate t e e ect o Pycnogeno n 22 pa-

t ents 18- 50 year o age , su erng rom ast ma s nce

1 and up to 16 years [Hosseini et al., 2001]. Patients

were ran om y ass gne to e t er t e Pycnogeno

group, rece v ng 1 mg/ / ay w t out excee ng

200 mg/day), or to the group receiving placebo for 4

wee s. T erea ter, su ects were crosse over to t ea ternate reg men.

irway obstruction and symptoms in asthma and hay-fever alike are the result of inappropriate responses

o t e o y‘s immune system towar s instances w ic are mista en y perceive as arm u . A ergens

ausing t ese reactions to t e respiratory system are most common y po en, ust, an anima air. W en

an allergic person comes into contact with an allergen, a particular subset of the immune system, the

ast ce s, re ease t e tissue- ormone istamine. During t is imme iate reaction istamine triggers t e

pectrum o symptoms so common to a ergies: sneezing, nasa congestion, coug ing, w eezing, itc ing,

and bronchial swellings. Essentially the same mechanisms prevail in allergic asthma which causes episodes

o w eezy reat essness. However, ast matic attac s may a so e triggere y c emica irritants suc as

to acco smo e or car ex aust, certain me ications, co air an even exercise or psyc ic in uences.

Respiratory health: hay-fever and asthma

Pycnogenol® [µg/ml]

0 40 80 16020

normal

-28%

-44%

-59%

-72%

Pycnogenol® inhibits histamine releasefrom mast cells



e pat ents’ a rway unct on was assesse y t e

„forced expiration volume in 1 second“ (FEV1), by

eans o a sp rometer. T e su ect s s ungs

n t e a r vo ume ex a e ast w t n 1 secon s

easured. The exhaled volume is expressed relative

o t e tota ung vo ume, so t e FEV1 va ue repre-

ents t e percentage o a pat ent‘s ung vo ume e

an exhale in a second. Naturally, the percentage is

ower n ast mat cs as t e r a rways are constr cte ,

n reat ng s aggravate . A ter 4 wee s treatment

with Pycnogenol the patients could exhale 71% of

e r ung vo ume as compare to 59% at tr a startn 63% n response to p ace o, respect ve y.

he severity of asthma symptoms was rated on a 4

po nt sca e, rang ng rom symptom ree 0 n severa

teps to m nterm ttent 1 , to a mo erate nter-

ittent form (2) up to a severe persistent form (3).Symptom scores were n average 2.23 e ore treat-

ent an 2.79 w e rece v ng pace os, w c are

onsidered as being a „severe persistent“ form. In

esponse to treatment w t Pycnogeno t e average

ymptom sever ty score was s gn cant y owere to

1.75, a „moderate persistent“ form.

e mprovement o a rway unct on was para e e

by a reduction of leukotrienes, pro-inflammatory me-

ators, n t e oo . Leu otr enes attract mmunee s to t e ronc an act vate t em. T s causes

ronc a constr cton an a rway o struct on n ast -

ma. Pycnogenol® significantly reduced the leukotri-

ne va ues n t e oo o pat ents, as compare to

ot ase ne va ues as we as p ace o me cat on.

As expected, placebo had no significant influence on

eu otr ene eve s n t e oo .

Pycnogeno was we to erate , ony one pat ent ex-perienced gastrointestinal discomfort, however, this

ccurre on y ur ng t e rst 3-4 ays. T e pat ents

genera y note an mprovement o t e r reat ng

bility when they received Pycnogenol

Pycnogenol® for management of child-

hood asthma

T e vast ma or ty o ast mat cs ave eve ope t e

sease a rea y ur ng c oo , most o t em e-

fore they reached the age of five years. In many casesren eve op ay- ever w c t erea ter pro-

gresses to ast ma. Ast ma me cat on w t c ren

is a sensitive issue, representing a challenge for ev-

ry o y nvo ve : t e treat ng p ys c an, t e parents

n t e c pat ents tse . T s resu ts rom t e g

symptom variability in children, further complicated

y t e ynam cs o t e eve opment an growt o

t e c organ sm. Parents on t e r s e ee uncom-

fortable with having their child permanently take pre-

scr e me cat ons.

Respiratory Health

Placebo Pycnogenol®

baseline

63%

71%

Pycnogenol® allows easier breathing (FEV1)

Baseline (1044 pg/ml) Placebo (1017 pg/ml)

Pycnogenol® (844 pg/ml)

-2.6%

-19.2%

Pycnogenol® lowers blood leukotriene levels



ou e- n , p ace o-contro e stu y as nves-

igated 60 children with mild to moderate asthma,

ge 6 to 18 years, over a per o 3 mont s Lau et

. 2004 . A m nor ty o 9 pat ents too ora me ca-

ion with Accolate® (Zafirlukast). All patients were de-

pen ng on rescue n a ers w t a utero to contro

ccurr ng ast ma attac s. T rty c ren were as-

igned to treatment with Pycnogenol (1mg/lb/day)

n anot er 30 c ren to t e contro group rece v-

ng p ace o or 3 mont s. One mont pr or to treat-

ent was taken as run-in period to establish baseline

on t ons.

e stu y s owe t at eas ness o reat ng mprove

ignificantly already after 1 month treatment with

ycnogeno , as measure us ng t e FEV1 met o .

reat ng was expresse as percentage o tota ung

olume which can be exhaled in a second. Breathingty was urt er mprov ng a ter two mont s an

ree mont s treatment, w ereas p ace o a no e -

ect at any time.

e sever ty o ast ma symptoms was rate on a 4

point scale. At baseline, mean symptom scores was

2.3 w c s etween 2= mo erate “somew at

stur ng” an 3= severe “ nter er ng w t a y

ctivities”). Symptoms gradually decreased during

ycnogeno treatment an reac e 0.2 at tr a enw c , pat ents t us e ng a most symptom ree. In

ontrast, t e p ace o-treate group a symptoms

nly marginally improved which remained above 2

unt comp et on o t e tr a .

T e mprovement o a rway unct on was para e e

by a reduction of inflammatory mediators (leukot-

r enes , teste rom t e ur ne o t e pat ents. T e

eu otr enes cause t e n ammatory con t on anbronchial constriction. Pycnogenol® significantly re-

uce eu otr ene va ues a rea y a ter 1 mont an

urt er ecrease t em t roug out t e tr a per o .

As expected, treatment with placebo had no influ-

nce on eu otr ene eve s.

The most compelling outcome of the study is the dra-

mat ca y re uce necess ty o us ng rescue n a ers

Respiratory Health


0 2 3 months1

69.9%

76.0%

69.7% 69.6% 69.0%

80.7%

86.0%

Pycnogenol® improves breathing ability (FEV1)


1300pg/ml

1100

900

700

0 2 3 months1

Pycnogenol® lowers leukotriene levels


0 2 3 months1

1.22

0.56

0.22

2.42

2.56

2.38 2.32

Lowered requirement for albuterol puffs per 24 hours



s severe ast ma attac s appeare muc ess requent y. A ter 1 mont 8 out o 30 c ren ta ng Pycnogeno

didn’t require rescue inhalers at all anymore, and the number increased to 12 and 18 completely off the inhaler after

2 an 3 mont s treatment, respect ve y.

he other of the study concluded that Pycnogenol is an effective and safe nutritional approach for children to man-

ge m to mo erate ast ma.

ReferencesGrimm T et a . In i ition o NF- B activation an MMP-9 secretion y p asma o uman vo unteers a ter ingestion o maritime

pine ar extract Pycnogeno . J In amm 3: 1-15, 2006.

osseini S et a . ycnogeno in the management of asthma. Journal of Medicinal Food, 4: 201-209, 2001.

au BHS et al. Pycnogenol as an adjunct in the management of childhood asthma. J Asthma 41: 825-832, 2004.

o ewa P. A review o t e Frenc maritime pine ar extract Pycnogeno ® , an er a me ication wit a iverse p armaco -

gy. Int J Cin P armaco T er 40 4 : 158-168, 2002.

arma SC et a . ycnogeno in i its t e re ease o istamine rom mast ce s. P yt ot er. Res. 17: 66-69, 2003.

Respiratory Health

Pycnogeno o ers e p or t e management o ay- ever an ast ma:

• Demonstrated immune modulation in humans

• Controlled clinical trial with asthmatic patients

• Controlled clinical trial demonstrating efficacy in childhood asthma

pycnogenol for respiratory health

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