Grape seed extract contains pycnogenol, a natural plant product also found in the bark of the European coastal pine. Pycnogenol (pronounced pick-nah-geh-nol) has been used in France, Finland, Holland, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Argentina, and Switzerland, and only recently has been marketed in the United States.
Pycnogenol is considered the most powerful of antioxidants--50 times more effective than Vitamin E and 20 times more powerful than Vitamin C. It also enhances the effect of Vitamin C. Like Vitamins C and E, pygnogenol may act as protectors against environmental toxins. Antioxidants neutralize unstable or "radical" oxygen molecules that attack the body's cells. When these "free radical" molecules go unchecked, they degrade the tissue-strengthening collagen within the body's joints, skin, and organs. Free radicals reprogram DNA and are implicated in more than 60 diseases. In addition, aging, inflammation of the muscles, joints and other tissues, plus improper functioning of the circulatory system, nervous system (including brain cells), and immune system can result from free radical damage.
Pycnogenol is a trade name for proanthocyanidin, a special family of bioflavanoids plus 40 other biologically beneficial components. Pycnogenol furnishes the human body with excellent antioxidant nutritional support for a variety of body repairs. It provides capillary resistance against fragility and rupture, and therefore is useful to prevent diseased blood vessels associated with varicose veins, peripheral hemorrhage, diabetic retinopathy, and high blood pressure. It has been proven to be nearly three times as effective as other types of nutrient flavonoids for repair of their damaged capillaries. Pycnogenol is thought to inhibit the release of collagenases, enzymes released during tissue damage and subsequent inflammation that can lead to additional protein damage. More than 1,000 scientific studies have documented pycnogenol's absorptive ability and bioavailability in the human body as a cellular detoxifier. Pyncogenol is quickly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract because it is highly water soluble. The compound fixes rapidly to cell membranes in veins and capillaries and connective tissue (collagen), where it exerts a stabilizing effect on cellular membranes of all types. It also mops up free radical particles and binds with them so they can be excreted as waste products. Pycnogenol, like other bioflavonoids, facilitates active transport of Vitamin C by carrying it to the site of necessary action.
Pycnogenol, or grape seed extract, has demonstrated the following main benefits:
Improves joint flexibility and fights joint inflammation and pain from arthritis, low back and neck problems, and sports injuries
Dramatically relieves ADD/ADHD
Improves skin smoothness and elasticity
Reduces prostate inflammation and other inflammatory conditions
Reduces diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy
Improves circulation and enhances cell vitality
Improves skin disorders such as eczema
Improves and arrests varicose veins, and reduces the risk of phlebitis
Reduces the effects of stress
Reduces allergic reactions
Strengthens capillaries, arteries, veins and blood vessel walls, including those that supply the heart.
Reduces swelling in the lower extremities.
