Maritime Pine Bark Extract

One of the earliest recorded usages of pine bark comes to us from the diary of the explorer Jacques Cartier. After being trapped in the ice, Cartier and his crew began showing symptoms of scurvy. Fortunately for them, a Native North American told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to treat their symptoms, which allowed Cartier and his crew to survive. Four hundred years later Professor Jacques Masquelier produced an extract from pine bark and called the active ingredients “Pycnogenol” now known as proanthocyanidins. The name Pycnogenol was then trademarked and refers to the extract of Maritime Pine Bark. Therefore, Maritime Pine Bark Extract is the GENERIC name of the very well known product Pycnogenol®. Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals’ Maritime Pine Bark Extract contains 85% proanthocyanidins, the same amount of active ingredients as Pycnogenol®. Proanthocyanidins are very powerful anti-oxidants, approximately 50 times more potent than Vitamin C or E. The most notable effects of the proanthocyanidins found in Maritime Pine Bark Extract are its anti-oxidant abilities. Oxidants such as free radials have been linked to many chronic degenerative diseases such as arthritis and heart disease. Free radicals have also been linked to damage caused by heart attacks and strokes.