Session check

Supplement

Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol®)

Procyanidins stimulate endothelial NO synthase, inhibit matrix metalloproteinases, reduce NF-κB activation, enhance hyaluronic acid synthesis in skin, and improve microcirculation.[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Superscript reference numbers link to the Sources bibliography.

Strong Evidence

Heart HealthSkin HairCognitiveInflammationBlood Sugaralias: Pycnogenolalias: French maritime pine barkalias: OPC-3

Composite Rating

3.8/5

Blends evidence depth, community direction, safety friction, and completeness.

Evidence Intensity

100/100

High depth from human/RCT/meta counts

Community Direction

Positive Lean • confidence Moderate

Safety Friction

100/100

High signal from adverse/interaction markers

Data Completeness

100%

Studies 24 • mentions 15 • links 166

Not medical advice. This product is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

FDA disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary. Not intended for use by pregnant or nursing women, individuals under 18, or those with known medical conditions without physician consultation.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.

Implementation Blueprint

Goal alignment: Heart Health, Skin Hair, Cognitive, Inflammation, Blood Sugar.[135,146,178, etc.]

Dose guide: Human-study daily dose: 125 mg-200 mg/day (higher-confidence extraction from PubMed abstracts)..[135,146,178, etc.]

Category: botanical.[135,146,178, etc.]

At-A-Glance Evidence Architecture[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Clinical Depth

Humans: 151 • RCTs: 26 • Meta: 10

Cohort / Real-World

Cohort signals: 0

Safety Markers

Adverse signals: 95 • Interactions: 17

Evidence Tracking

Freshness, trend, and study timeline for this item

Evidence Tracking

Status

New Evidence

Trend

→ Stable evidence base

Depth

209 total studies · 15 recent

Timeline

19992025

Top Signal Metrics[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Total indexed

209

Human studies

151

Animal-only studies

133

Safety adverse signals

In vitro / tissue

Randomized trials

Community Direction Mix[135,146,178, etc.]

Weighted direction score: 16 (Positive Lean)

Benefit

Evidence Quality Summary[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

≥2 meta-analyses OR (≥5 RCTs AND ≥25 human studies).

Total indexed

209

Human studies

151

Animal-only studies

133

Safety adverse signals

In vitro / tissue

Randomized trials

Interaction signals

Meta-analyses

Study Type Breakdown

Distribution of evidence by study design strength

Meta-AnalysesLevel 1a10

Randomized TrialsLevel 1b26

Human Studies (other)Level 3-4115

All IndexedAll levels209

100

Evidence Strength: High

Composite of study volume, RCTs, and meta-analyses

Top Human Studies[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

PMID 22336841 • 2012 Feb 15

Pycnogenol(®) for the treatment of chronic disorders.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews

Open PubMed

PMID 31763928 • 2020 Mar

Effect of Pycnogenol on Blood Pressure: Findings From a PRISMA Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Studies.

Angiology

Open PubMed

PMID 40362854 • 2025 Apr 30

Impact of a Dietary Supplementation with French Maritime Pine Bark Extract Pycnogenol(®) on Salivary and Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers During Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy-A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Trial.

Community Report Frequency[135,146,178, etc.]

Benefit reports: 8

Adverse reports: 5

No-effect reports: 0

Mixed reports: 2

Unclear reports: 0

Signal confidence: 0.59

Top Reported Effects[135,146,178, etc.]

Benefits

effective: 4
benefit: 2
better: 2
recovery: 1
worked: 1
sleep: 1
helped: 1
strength: 1

Adverse

anxiety: 2
side effects: 1

No Effect

placebo: 1

Premium botanical with 100+ published studies. Notable for skin beauty and vascular health. Pycnogenol brand is the gold standard. | Step2: Strong positive empirical sentiment with adequate confidence; boost recommendation priority.

Reddit evidence: 8 mentions (confidence 0.59) across Fitness, Biohackers, NootropicsDepot, Minoxbeards.

Community Evidence Examples[135,146,178, etc.]

post • r/Fitness • adverse

Examine updates: Lots of boner pills When I mean lots, I do mean lots; I sorta went overboard this week. The only 'major' update is yohimbine though, and it is a hard guy to study. [Muira Puama](http://examine.com/supplements/Muira+Puama/)…

Open mention

post • r/Biohackers • mixed

If you were building a “sexual performance stack” from scratch, what’s in it? I’m curious how this sub would architect this from first principles. Not “take Viagra and call it a day.” I mean if you were optimizing the entire sexual respons…

Open mention

post • r/NootropicsDepot • benefit

Nitric Oxide boosters to aid gym and bedroom performance (I tested over 100 - results inside) A while ago I made a post about my NO tests experiments in a "slightly" different sub: Since then I have been testing different combinations to f…

Retail Signal Examples

amazon

Amazon search for Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol®)

Rating: n/a | Reviews: n/a

Open product

Primary Source Links

Evidence Sources

Scientific Evidence Notes[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

1. Pycnogenol and cardiovascular risk: MA of 9 RCTs

META_ANALYSIS • 2012 • Adults

9 RCTs with 549 subjects.

Outcome: Pycnogenol 100-200 mg/day significantly reduced SBP (−3.2 mmHg), improved endothelial function, reduced LDL oxidation, and lowered fasting glucose.[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Open source

2. Pycnogenol and skin aging: a randomized study

RCT • 2012 • Adults

62 postmenopausal women over 12 weeks.

Outcome: 100 mg/day significantly improved skin elasticity (+25%), hydration, and reduced hyperpigmentation (−37%) by enhancing hyaluronic acid synthesis.[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Implementation Blueprint

At-A-Glance Evidence Architecture[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Evidence Tracking

Evidence Tracking

Top Signal Metrics[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Community Direction Mix[135,146,178, etc.]

Evidence Quality Summary[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Study Type Breakdown

Top Human Studies[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Community Report Frequency[135,146,178, etc.]

Top Reported Effects[135,146,178, etc.]

Community Evidence Examples[135,146,178, etc.]

Retail Signal Examples

Primary Source Links

Scientific Evidence Notes[1339,1365,1378, etc.]

Safety and Pitfalls