Oral administration of French maritime pine bark extract (Flavangenol®) improves clinical symptoms in photoaged facial skin

Abstract

BackgroundFrench maritime pine bark extract (PBE) has gained popularity as a dietary supplement in the treatment of various diseases due to its polyphenol-rich ingredients. Oligometric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), a class of bioflavonoid complexes, are enriched in French maritime PBE and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Previous studies have suggested that French maritime PBE helps reduce ultraviolet radiation damage to the skin and may protect human facial skin from symptoms of photoaging. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of French maritime PBE in the improvement of photodamaged facial skin, we conducted a randomized trial of oral supplementation with PBE.MethodsOne hundred and twelve women with mild to moderate photoaging of the skin were randomized to either a 12-week open trial regimen of 100 mg PBE supplementation once daily or to a parallel-group trial regimen of 40 mg PBE supplementation once daily.ResultsA significant decrease in clinical grading of skin photoaging scores was observed in both time courses of 100 mg daily and 40 mg daily PBE supplementation regimens. A significant reduction in the pigmentation of age spots was also demonstrated utilizing skin color measurements.ConclusionClinically significant improvement in photodamaged skin could be achieved with PBE. Our findings confirm the efficacy and safety of PBE.

Administration of Apple Polyphenol Supplements for Skin Conditions in Healthy Women: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

“…In the current study, we demonstrated that AP oral administration, specifically procyanidins, was effective in inhibiting pigmentation by UV irradiation in this human clinical study. The results suggested that the reduction in oxidative stress and the antioxidative activity by AP resulted in the inhibition of melanogenesis induced by UV irradiation, which is consistent with previous studies [36,37]. In our previous study, we reported that AP inhibited mushroom tyrosinase and the generation of melanin pigments in a B16 mouse melanoma cell study in vitro, which was a non-UV irradiation system [26].…”

“…Procyanidins, derived from grape seeds, pine bark, and cacao, are reported to have strong protective effects against ROSs and free radicals [32][33][34]. Oral administration of French maritime pine bark extracts, which are rich in flavonoids such as flavan-3-ols and procyanidins, protected against UV-induced skin damage [35], decreased clinical grading of skin photo-aging scores [36], and clinically improved the melasma [37]. However, due to the low numbers of participants and the lack of placebo groups in some papers, the effects of pine bark procyanidin on skin pigmentation are not fully understood and further study is required.…”

Skin-lightening and anti-ageing effect of a food supplement containing Pinus pinaster extract

“…As UV radiation is a major source of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress, inflammation and pigmentary disorders, FMPBE is indicated to counteract UV-induced damage. The lightening effect obtained in this study on both pigmentary spots and normal skin is in accordance with previous observations on photoaged facial skin in the presence of a FMPBE supplementation [13] or UV-induced skin damage [14]. It was shown in vitro that OPCs from either FMPBE or grapeseed influence the NF-κB signalling pathway activated by UV-induced oxidative stress [14,20].…”

“…This selected dosage (100 mg/day) was in accordance with some previous clinical studies: one clinical study demonstrated the effect of FMPBE at 80 mg/day [12] for melasma treatment. Furumura et al [13] used it at 100 mg/day and Saliou et al [14] used it at 1.10 mg/kg/day.…”

Pine Bark Extracts: Nutraceutical, Pharmacological, and Toxicological Evaluation

“…Orally administered vitamins or botanical polyphenols demonstrated UV-protective properties in the skin (Stahl and Sies, 2007), and PYC can help to reduce UV skin damage and may protect against photoaging. A significant reduction in age pigment was demonstrated using skin color measurements, and clinical trials demonstrated that PYC protects skin from UV damage (Furumura et al, 2012). The efficacy and safety of these treatments have been validated.…”