A daily supplement of the French maritime pine bark, Pycnogenol, could reduce the markers of inflammation by 15 per cent, says a joint German-Slovak study.

Inflammation is a normal protective and tissue repair response. However, chronic inflammation, brought about by an over-expression or lack of control of the normally protective mechanism, can lead to a range of inflammatory related diseases, including cardiovascular disease. The study, published recently in the Journal of Inflammation (Vol. 3), supplemented the diets of seven young, healthy volunteers (five men) for five days with Pycnogenol (200 mg). Blood samples were taken at day one after a 24 hour abstinence from flavonoid consumption, and again at day five.

After five days of supplementation the researchers found that activation of the pro-inflammatory molecule, nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-kB), was inhibited by about 15 per cent. “This study demonstrates Pycnogenol's ability to inhibit NF-kB and the pro-inflammatory molecules under its control. This reduced 'friendly-fire' incidents where the body's immune system turned inflammation on tissue,” said lead researcher, Petra Högger, from the University of Wurzburg. It should be noted that the product used was Pycnogenol, made exclusively by Horphag Research, who co-sponsored this study.

While the study has several obvious limitations, including the small sample population, lack of a placebo and no blinding, the authors noted that these results were in-keeping with other clinical data on the anti-inflammatory effects of the pine bark extract. The limitations are significant however and should not be lightly dismissed.

Finnish researchers have also reported that extracts from Scotch pine have potent anti-inflammatory effects and suggested that this extract could be used in supplements targeted at arthritis sufferers (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2004, Vol. 52, pp. 7532-7540).