05/16/2007
New Study: Pycnogenol® Reduces Heart Failure
May 16, 2007 – GENEVA, Switzerland – A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the journal of Cardiovascular Toxicology reveals Pycnogenol®, natural pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, helps prevent damage that high blood pressure causes to the heart. The study demonstrates Pycnogenol® counteracts the “wearing out” of the heart, which may aid the five million Americans living with heart failure. Previous studies have shown Pycnogenol® supplementation to be associated with improved cardiovascular health, such as cholesterol reduction, blood pressure control and prevention of thrombosis.
In hypertension, the over-worked heart gradually wears out, resulting in the weakening of the heart muscle and increasing of heart chamber volume. This process (known as cardiac remodeling) may eventually cause heart failure when the heart insufficiently supplies the body with oxygenated blood. The study showed that Pycnogenol® prevents the heart from getting worn out during hypertension. Cardiac chamber walls showed a significantly higher rate of collagen connective tissues than control groups.
“Alternative treatments such as Pycnogenol® are crucial components in the fight against heart disease,” said Dr. Ronald Watson, professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona and a lead researcher of the study. “The effectiveness of Pycnogenol® supplementation is a great option for many people who want an alternative to prescription medications such as beta blockers or ACE inhibitors. This new study shows Pycnogenol® administers a therapeutic effect to limit the degenerative process in patients predisposed to congestive heart failure, such as the aged.”
The study was conducted at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Elderly female mice (18 months old) were randomly divided into four groups: control mice, mice receiving Pycnogenol® only, mice receiving L-NAME only (a substance which causes arterial constriction) and mice receiving both Pycnogenol® and L-NAME. Pycnogenol® and L-NAME were administered in tap water and the study was approved by the Animal Review Committee at the University of Arizona.
One group of hypertensive mice received Pycnogenol® in drinking water for four weeks and another group of hypertensive mice was left untreated. After five weeks, the hearts of the latter control group had significantly increased in size as a result of hypertension. In the Pycnogenol® treated group, hypertension and heart function parameters resembled those found in healthy control mice with healthy blood pressure.
“This study provides evidence that oral administration of Pycnogenol® reversed cardiovascular remodeling induced by L-NAME by blocking nitric oxide production, which leads to hypertension and finally cardiomyopathy,” said Watson.
After a detailed investigation of the heart tissue, Watson found Pycnogenol® supplementation to significantly enhance the connective collagen matrix of cardiac tissue. Whereas the chronic hypertension in mice led to a significant loss of connective collagen fibers, Pycnogenol® significantly increased the collagen presence, resulting in stronger cardiac chambers.
According to the American Heart Association nearly five million Americans are living with heart failure, and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The mortality rate for heart failure affects 80 percent of men and 70 percent of women within 12 years of obtaining cardiovascular diseases. According to Watson, cardiac remodeling is considered an important therapeutic target to battle this disease.
Watson presented the new research this month at the SupplySide East Educational Conference and Trade Show in Secaucus, NJ. Previous clinical research shows Pycnogenol® to battle coronary heart disease and stroke, high blood cholesterol and hypertension. Research shows Pycnogenol® to diminish the major cardiovascular risk factors simultaneously while offering a safe, natural approach.
http://www.ecenter.isotonix.com/
or
www.marketamerica.com/customizeme
Pycnogenol and OPC-3™
You've known about the beneficial ingredients in our top-selling Isotonix® OPC-3 for years. New research continues to indicate that a key OPC-3 ingredient, Pycnogenol, may offer powerful, significant benefits to those who take it.*
To find out more about Market America Isotonix® OPC-3™, go to "top ten products" (left column)>Isotonix® OPC-3™
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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Vital Nutrients and the Benefits of Nutritional Supplements
Discover the Benefits of Nutritional Supplements
In modern times, there is a growing and important need to incorporate nutritional supplements in one's diet for many reasons. While the average person may believe that he or she is eating a balanced diet, in fact he or she may be missing out on vital nutrients that cannot be easily gained on a daily basis. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration when one is weighing the reasons for taking supplements.
Why Take Nutritional Supplements?
Modern farming methods utilize frequent crop rotations in order to maximize productivity. As a result, however, vital nutrients and especially minerals in the soil are rapidly depleted. This is so extreme that you may notice that a tomato from the store today just doesn't taste like the tomato of your childhood - and it probably has nowhere near the nutrient level either. As a result, those eating mass-produced vegetables and fruits are missing out on key phytonutrients, including bioflavanoids and minerals, which are generally no longer present in the amounts they were in the past.
In addition, today we are constantly exposed to overly processed food products. If you walk into any standard supermarket, you would likely eliminate 90 percent of the store if you were to ignore the processed foods that are offered. It's certainly hard to avoid, since these are the products advertised on television, available at grocery stores, and served in the multitudes of fast-food restaurants. Even if you are conscientious and try to eat well, you still likely are filling your stomach much of the time with processed grains (stripped of bran and fiber), fatty foods (loaded with saturated and trans-fats) and overly sweetened foods with few vital nutrients.
Plus, it can be almost impossible to achieve the diverse and vital nutrients that your body requires just in what you eat day to day. For example, different fruits contain different nutrients - but you are not likely to eat every type of fruit every single day, or even once a month. How often have you eaten blueberries, bananas, pears, cherries and raspberries in a single day? Because there is such a variety out there, and because these nutrients are all important, it can be simply impossible to consistently get them all from diet alone.
Another challenge is that Americans are eating the wrong types of fats - we eat too many products containing high levels of trans fats, saturated fats, and vegetable poly unsaturated fats, instead of healthy monounsaturated fats and fish oils. Fish oils, in particular, are a valuable source of essential fatty acids, which are critical for maintaining normal mental and cardiovascular function. But unless one is eating wild Alaskan salmon three to four times a week, every week, one is not likely achieving the optimal level of these essential fatty acids and vital nutrients from diet alone.
For all of these reasons and more, high-quality nutritional supplements can help fill in the gaps and provide the vital nutrients missing from foods. They can give you the variety that you need on a day-to-day basis. Nutritional supplements are also important as it becomes evident that many vitamins and minerals can optimize your genetic potential - and taking nutritional supplements with the right blend of vital nutrients can also achieve this.
How Can You Choose the Right Nutritional Supplements?
Therefore, if taking nutritional supplements is so important to your health, your next step is to figure out how to navigate the sea of options that currently exist. Walk into any grocery store or pharmacy, or do an online search, and you'll find thousands of nutritional supplements. How do you choose a product or a brand?
Generally speaking, you should start by making sure that any supplement you buy is from a manufacturer and/or supplier working under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). These practices include documentation of the manufacturing process to eliminate the risks of i) contamination or adulteration of the vital nutrients the supplements contain, or ii) product mislabeling. Most well-known brands use GMP, so you may want to stick with a better-known product to ensure quality.
You can also investigate the manufacturer of a supplement to ensure that it has good quality control processes in place. The manufacturer should make this information available for consumers on its website or in product literature, including whether it has in-house testing of its products and whether it works with independent labs to confirm the potency and purity of its nutritional supplements and the vital nutrients that are included. In addition, you should be able to see up front if the manufacturer is promoting clinical research or simply featuring pseudo-science with little back up of its claims.
Take a look at the entire product line offered by the company as well. Many producers of nutritional supplements simply provide stand alone vitamins or single-ingredient herbs, such as a vitamin D supplement or an Echinacea pill. These companies are often simply of the "me too" variety - offering basic products just to make money. Other companies may offer blends or balanced formulations with the right combinations of vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or herbs that work together to produce optimal results. Such companies are likely to provide balanced nutritional supplements that more closely mimic those found in nature and that are better for maintaining your health. Companies that provide such products are more likely to be interested in the overall well-being of their customers rather than in just selling a single type of ingredient.
Finally, look carefully at the delivery method of the vital nutrients in any supplement you are investigating. While many nutritional supplements are offered in a compressed tablet format, this is not necessarily the best way to get the nutrients into your system. If this type of tablet isn't formulated properly, or if it is compressed with too much pressure when it is created, it will not dissolve readily in the stomach. If you decide to try tablets, make sure the label notes that they meet USP dissolution requirements, which means that the product has been tested and will properly dissolve in the stomach.
A better choice for delivery is to find nutritional supplements that are isotonic - provided in powder form that can be mixed with water to create an isotonic solution. This enables vital nutrients to be absorbed more readily in the small bowel without need for digestion in the stomach, thus a very efficient delivery method.
Conclusion
Nutritional supplements can be extremely beneficial to your overall health and well being and can compensate for the lack of vital nutrients in modern processed foods and inadequate diets. However, it is important to choose very carefully the nutritional supplements that you purchase. Look into the background of the manufacturer or supplier of the supplements and make sure they are meeting quality control standards as well as providing these vital nutrients in a delivery form that has the greatest benefit.
www.marketamerica.com/customizeme
or
www.CustomizeME.com
In modern times, there is a growing and important need to incorporate nutritional supplements in one's diet for many reasons. While the average person may believe that he or she is eating a balanced diet, in fact he or she may be missing out on vital nutrients that cannot be easily gained on a daily basis. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration when one is weighing the reasons for taking supplements.
Why Take Nutritional Supplements?
Modern farming methods utilize frequent crop rotations in order to maximize productivity. As a result, however, vital nutrients and especially minerals in the soil are rapidly depleted. This is so extreme that you may notice that a tomato from the store today just doesn't taste like the tomato of your childhood - and it probably has nowhere near the nutrient level either. As a result, those eating mass-produced vegetables and fruits are missing out on key phytonutrients, including bioflavanoids and minerals, which are generally no longer present in the amounts they were in the past.
In addition, today we are constantly exposed to overly processed food products. If you walk into any standard supermarket, you would likely eliminate 90 percent of the store if you were to ignore the processed foods that are offered. It's certainly hard to avoid, since these are the products advertised on television, available at grocery stores, and served in the multitudes of fast-food restaurants. Even if you are conscientious and try to eat well, you still likely are filling your stomach much of the time with processed grains (stripped of bran and fiber), fatty foods (loaded with saturated and trans-fats) and overly sweetened foods with few vital nutrients.
Plus, it can be almost impossible to achieve the diverse and vital nutrients that your body requires just in what you eat day to day. For example, different fruits contain different nutrients - but you are not likely to eat every type of fruit every single day, or even once a month. How often have you eaten blueberries, bananas, pears, cherries and raspberries in a single day? Because there is such a variety out there, and because these nutrients are all important, it can be simply impossible to consistently get them all from diet alone.
Another challenge is that Americans are eating the wrong types of fats - we eat too many products containing high levels of trans fats, saturated fats, and vegetable poly unsaturated fats, instead of healthy monounsaturated fats and fish oils. Fish oils, in particular, are a valuable source of essential fatty acids, which are critical for maintaining normal mental and cardiovascular function. But unless one is eating wild Alaskan salmon three to four times a week, every week, one is not likely achieving the optimal level of these essential fatty acids and vital nutrients from diet alone.
For all of these reasons and more, high-quality nutritional supplements can help fill in the gaps and provide the vital nutrients missing from foods. They can give you the variety that you need on a day-to-day basis. Nutritional supplements are also important as it becomes evident that many vitamins and minerals can optimize your genetic potential - and taking nutritional supplements with the right blend of vital nutrients can also achieve this.
How Can You Choose the Right Nutritional Supplements?
Therefore, if taking nutritional supplements is so important to your health, your next step is to figure out how to navigate the sea of options that currently exist. Walk into any grocery store or pharmacy, or do an online search, and you'll find thousands of nutritional supplements. How do you choose a product or a brand?
Generally speaking, you should start by making sure that any supplement you buy is from a manufacturer and/or supplier working under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). These practices include documentation of the manufacturing process to eliminate the risks of i) contamination or adulteration of the vital nutrients the supplements contain, or ii) product mislabeling. Most well-known brands use GMP, so you may want to stick with a better-known product to ensure quality.
You can also investigate the manufacturer of a supplement to ensure that it has good quality control processes in place. The manufacturer should make this information available for consumers on its website or in product literature, including whether it has in-house testing of its products and whether it works with independent labs to confirm the potency and purity of its nutritional supplements and the vital nutrients that are included. In addition, you should be able to see up front if the manufacturer is promoting clinical research or simply featuring pseudo-science with little back up of its claims.
Take a look at the entire product line offered by the company as well. Many producers of nutritional supplements simply provide stand alone vitamins or single-ingredient herbs, such as a vitamin D supplement or an Echinacea pill. These companies are often simply of the "me too" variety - offering basic products just to make money. Other companies may offer blends or balanced formulations with the right combinations of vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or herbs that work together to produce optimal results. Such companies are likely to provide balanced nutritional supplements that more closely mimic those found in nature and that are better for maintaining your health. Companies that provide such products are more likely to be interested in the overall well-being of their customers rather than in just selling a single type of ingredient.
Finally, look carefully at the delivery method of the vital nutrients in any supplement you are investigating. While many nutritional supplements are offered in a compressed tablet format, this is not necessarily the best way to get the nutrients into your system. If this type of tablet isn't formulated properly, or if it is compressed with too much pressure when it is created, it will not dissolve readily in the stomach. If you decide to try tablets, make sure the label notes that they meet USP dissolution requirements, which means that the product has been tested and will properly dissolve in the stomach.
A better choice for delivery is to find nutritional supplements that are isotonic - provided in powder form that can be mixed with water to create an isotonic solution. This enables vital nutrients to be absorbed more readily in the small bowel without need for digestion in the stomach, thus a very efficient delivery method.
Conclusion
Nutritional supplements can be extremely beneficial to your overall health and well being and can compensate for the lack of vital nutrients in modern processed foods and inadequate diets. However, it is important to choose very carefully the nutritional supplements that you purchase. Look into the background of the manufacturer or supplier of the supplements and make sure they are meeting quality control standards as well as providing these vital nutrients in a delivery form that has the greatest benefit.
www.marketamerica.com/customizeme
or
www.CustomizeME.com
Friday, May 04, 2007
Fish oil gives statins a boost
The March 31, 2007 issue of The Lancet published the finding of the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) that the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) found in fish oil could be used in addition to statin drugs to provide additional protection against coronary artery disease. The study is the first major long-term interventional trial to evaluate this effect.
Mitsuhiro Yokoyama of Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine and colleagues randomized 18,645 men and women with a total cholesterol of at least 6.5 micromoles per liter to receive 1800 milligrams EPA with a statin drug, or a statin drug only for a five year period during which major coronary events were noted. Serum cholesterol levels were measured at the beginning and conclusion of the trial.
At the end of an average 4.6 years of follow up, LDL cholesterol concentrations had decreased by an average of 25% in both groups. A 19 percent reduction in major coronary events occurred in the group that received EPA compared to those that received a statin only. Unstable angina and nonfatal events were similarly reduced.
“This study shows that EPA, at a dose of 1800 mg per day, is a very promising regimen for prevention of major coronary events, especially since EPA seems to act through several biological mechanisms," the authors conclude. "We need to investigate whether EPA is effective for prevention of major coronary events in hypercholesterolemic patients without or with coronary artery disease in other countries”.
“Compared with drugs, invasive procedures, and devices, modest dietary changes are low risk, inexpensive, and widely available," Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard wrote in an accompanying commentary."The JELIS investigators should be commended, and their efforts should inspire additional clinical trials of the effects of fish oil and other dietary factors and habits on cardiovascular health”.
—D Dye
Mitsuhiro Yokoyama of Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine and colleagues randomized 18,645 men and women with a total cholesterol of at least 6.5 micromoles per liter to receive 1800 milligrams EPA with a statin drug, or a statin drug only for a five year period during which major coronary events were noted. Serum cholesterol levels were measured at the beginning and conclusion of the trial.
At the end of an average 4.6 years of follow up, LDL cholesterol concentrations had decreased by an average of 25% in both groups. A 19 percent reduction in major coronary events occurred in the group that received EPA compared to those that received a statin only. Unstable angina and nonfatal events were similarly reduced.
“This study shows that EPA, at a dose of 1800 mg per day, is a very promising regimen for prevention of major coronary events, especially since EPA seems to act through several biological mechanisms," the authors conclude. "We need to investigate whether EPA is effective for prevention of major coronary events in hypercholesterolemic patients without or with coronary artery disease in other countries”.
“Compared with drugs, invasive procedures, and devices, modest dietary changes are low risk, inexpensive, and widely available," Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard wrote in an accompanying commentary."The JELIS investigators should be commended, and their efforts should inspire additional clinical trials of the effects of fish oil and other dietary factors and habits on cardiovascular health”.
—D Dye
Friday, April 27, 2007
Meta-analysis finds antioxidant supplementation safe during cancer therapy
April 20, 2007
Meta-analysis finds antioxidant supplementation safe during cancer therapy
The January/February and March/April 2007 issues of the journal Alternative Therapies published a two part article by a team at the Simone Protective Cancer Institute in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, which concluded that, contrary to long-held beliefs, antioxidant and other nutritional supplementation during chemotherapy or radiation does not interfere with these treatments.
"A single, front-page interview in The New York Times in 1997, which was not based on published scientific work, and a single research paper involving mice, along with a press release by its author in 1999, led to the erroneous notion that vitamin C interferes with chemotherapy and radiation in humans," the authors write. "This notion soon applied to all antioxidants as physicians, patients, the media, the American Cancer Society, and scores of websites took the same position without reviewing the scientific evidence."
For their meta-analysis, oncologist Charles B. Simone, MD, and colleagues identified 50 human studies that included a total of 8,251 participants involving the use of chemotherapy and/or radiation concurrently with dietary supplements. They discovered that antioxidants and other supplements failed to interfere with the treatments and were actually found to enhance them. In 47 of these studies, supplements were associated with protection of normal tissue and a reduction of side effects, and in 15 studies, 3,738 subjects experienced increased survival.
The authors explain that, due to a loss of the homeostasis control mechanism for the uptake of antioxidants, cancer cells accumulate large amounts of the nutrients, while healthy cells do not have this membrane defect. This accumulation decreases the oxidative reactions needed for the generation of the cells' energy. Additionally, the nutrients elicit other effects on cancer cells unrelated to their antioxidant activity.
The authors concluded that "Antioxidant and other nutrient food supplements are safe and can help to enhance cancer patient care."
Meta-analysis finds antioxidant supplementation safe during cancer therapy
The January/February and March/April 2007 issues of the journal Alternative Therapies published a two part article by a team at the Simone Protective Cancer Institute in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, which concluded that, contrary to long-held beliefs, antioxidant and other nutritional supplementation during chemotherapy or radiation does not interfere with these treatments.
"A single, front-page interview in The New York Times in 1997, which was not based on published scientific work, and a single research paper involving mice, along with a press release by its author in 1999, led to the erroneous notion that vitamin C interferes with chemotherapy and radiation in humans," the authors write. "This notion soon applied to all antioxidants as physicians, patients, the media, the American Cancer Society, and scores of websites took the same position without reviewing the scientific evidence."
For their meta-analysis, oncologist Charles B. Simone, MD, and colleagues identified 50 human studies that included a total of 8,251 participants involving the use of chemotherapy and/or radiation concurrently with dietary supplements. They discovered that antioxidants and other supplements failed to interfere with the treatments and were actually found to enhance them. In 47 of these studies, supplements were associated with protection of normal tissue and a reduction of side effects, and in 15 studies, 3,738 subjects experienced increased survival.
The authors explain that, due to a loss of the homeostasis control mechanism for the uptake of antioxidants, cancer cells accumulate large amounts of the nutrients, while healthy cells do not have this membrane defect. This accumulation decreases the oxidative reactions needed for the generation of the cells' energy. Additionally, the nutrients elicit other effects on cancer cells unrelated to their antioxidant activity.
The authors concluded that "Antioxidant and other nutrient food supplements are safe and can help to enhance cancer patient care."
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Pine bark extract shows promise for slowing sugar uptake
By Stephen Daniells
2/9/2007 - Extracts from French maritime pine bark may inhibit an enzyme linked to glucose absorption 190 times more than a synthetic medication, says new research from Germany that could offer significant benefits for diabetics if the results can be translated from the lab to humans.The results of the new study, published on-line in the Elsevier journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, add to a growing body of research reporting anti-diabetic effects of the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol.
"Diabetes mellitus type II is a serious disease with rising prevalence," said lead researcher Dr. Petra Hogger. "This study is crucial for those suffering with the disease because it affirms that Pycnogenol is more effective than [a] prescription medication and supports the abundance of other research done on Pycnogenol and diabetes."
An estimated 19 million people are affected by diabetes in the EU 25, equal to four per cent of the total population. This figure is projected to increase to 26 million by 2030.
In the US, there are over 20 million people with diabetes, equal to seven per cent of the population. The total costs are thought to be as much as $132 bn, with $92 bn being direct costs from medication, according to 2002 American Diabetes Association figures.
Hogger and co-researcher Angelika Schafer from Wurzburg University tested Pycnogenol, a green tea extract (Emil Flachsmann) and the synthetic compound acabrose (Glucobay, Bayer Vital) for their ability to inhibit alpha-glucosidase, an enzyme found in the large intestine that is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and the production of glucose.
By inhibiting the activity of the enzyme it could be possible to prevent typical high-glucose peaks in the blood stream after a meal.
The in vitro study used an assay of alpha-glucosidase activity with equal concentrations of each sample and report that the most potent inhibition of the alpha-glucosidase was achieved by the pine bark extract (quantity required 50 per cent inhibition five micrograms per millilitre), followed by the green tea extract (20 micrograms per millilitre) and finally the acarbose (one milligram per millilitre).
"Since the alpha-glucosidase enzymes are located in the duodenum the intact pine bark extract constituents could exert inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase before a secondary metabolism of the procyanidin oligomers by bacteria occurs of the lower intestinal tract," wrote the researchers.
"Our results contribute to the explanation of clinical anti-diabetic effects of Pycnogenol," they said.
To identify which compounds in Pycnogenol may be behind the inhibiting effects, the researchers tested four different fractions (phenol carbonic acids and monomeric polyphenols; dimeric and trimeric procyanidins; tetrameric up to hexameric procyanidins; and higher oligomeric compounds).
The latter of these fractions inhibited the enzyme's activity by 94 per cent.
"The results obtained assign a novel, local effect to oligomeric procyanidins and contribute to the explanation of glucose-lowering effects of Pycnogenol observed in clinical trials with diabetic patients," wrote the researchers.
The actual mechanism by which these oligomeric procyanidins inhibit alpha-glucosidase is not clear, and more research is needed to elucidate these effects. Additional in vivo studies are needed to support these effects.
Horphag Research, manufacturer of Pycnogenol, has been very active in sponsoring and supporting studies into the potential health benefits of the pine bark extract and was the funding source behind this latest study.
The first research was conducted on the ingredient 35 years ago. Victor Ferrari, research chief operating officer and executive vice president of Horphag Research, told NutraIngredients recently that the company ploughs $1.5m - "most of its profits" - into research each year.
The product is extracted from the bark of the Maritime pine that grows on the southern coast of France, and is currently used in over 400 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products.
Source: Diabetes Research and Clinical PracticePublished on-line ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2006.10.011"Oligomeric procyanidins of French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) effectively inhibit alpha-glucosidase"Authors: A. Schafer, P. Hogger
2/9/2007 - Extracts from French maritime pine bark may inhibit an enzyme linked to glucose absorption 190 times more than a synthetic medication, says new research from Germany that could offer significant benefits for diabetics if the results can be translated from the lab to humans.The results of the new study, published on-line in the Elsevier journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, add to a growing body of research reporting anti-diabetic effects of the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol.
"Diabetes mellitus type II is a serious disease with rising prevalence," said lead researcher Dr. Petra Hogger. "This study is crucial for those suffering with the disease because it affirms that Pycnogenol is more effective than [a] prescription medication and supports the abundance of other research done on Pycnogenol and diabetes."
An estimated 19 million people are affected by diabetes in the EU 25, equal to four per cent of the total population. This figure is projected to increase to 26 million by 2030.
In the US, there are over 20 million people with diabetes, equal to seven per cent of the population. The total costs are thought to be as much as $132 bn, with $92 bn being direct costs from medication, according to 2002 American Diabetes Association figures.
Hogger and co-researcher Angelika Schafer from Wurzburg University tested Pycnogenol, a green tea extract (Emil Flachsmann) and the synthetic compound acabrose (Glucobay, Bayer Vital) for their ability to inhibit alpha-glucosidase, an enzyme found in the large intestine that is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and the production of glucose.
By inhibiting the activity of the enzyme it could be possible to prevent typical high-glucose peaks in the blood stream after a meal.
The in vitro study used an assay of alpha-glucosidase activity with equal concentrations of each sample and report that the most potent inhibition of the alpha-glucosidase was achieved by the pine bark extract (quantity required 50 per cent inhibition five micrograms per millilitre), followed by the green tea extract (20 micrograms per millilitre) and finally the acarbose (one milligram per millilitre).
"Since the alpha-glucosidase enzymes are located in the duodenum the intact pine bark extract constituents could exert inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase before a secondary metabolism of the procyanidin oligomers by bacteria occurs of the lower intestinal tract," wrote the researchers.
"Our results contribute to the explanation of clinical anti-diabetic effects of Pycnogenol," they said.
To identify which compounds in Pycnogenol may be behind the inhibiting effects, the researchers tested four different fractions (phenol carbonic acids and monomeric polyphenols; dimeric and trimeric procyanidins; tetrameric up to hexameric procyanidins; and higher oligomeric compounds).
The latter of these fractions inhibited the enzyme's activity by 94 per cent.
"The results obtained assign a novel, local effect to oligomeric procyanidins and contribute to the explanation of glucose-lowering effects of Pycnogenol observed in clinical trials with diabetic patients," wrote the researchers.
The actual mechanism by which these oligomeric procyanidins inhibit alpha-glucosidase is not clear, and more research is needed to elucidate these effects. Additional in vivo studies are needed to support these effects.
Horphag Research, manufacturer of Pycnogenol, has been very active in sponsoring and supporting studies into the potential health benefits of the pine bark extract and was the funding source behind this latest study.
The first research was conducted on the ingredient 35 years ago. Victor Ferrari, research chief operating officer and executive vice president of Horphag Research, told NutraIngredients recently that the company ploughs $1.5m - "most of its profits" - into research each year.
The product is extracted from the bark of the Maritime pine that grows on the southern coast of France, and is currently used in over 400 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products.
Source: Diabetes Research and Clinical PracticePublished on-line ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2006.10.011"Oligomeric procyanidins of French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) effectively inhibit alpha-glucosidase"Authors: A. Schafer, P. Hogger
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