Pycnogenol^® accelerates wound healing and reduces scar formation

Abstract

Pycnogenol was applied topically to experimental wounds inflicted on healthy rats by means of a branding iron. The wound-healing time was taken as the number of days required for 50% of the scabs to separate spontaneously from the animals. Application of a gel formulation containing 1% Pycnogenol significantly shortened the wound healing time, by 1.6 days compared with the group treated with gel only (15.4 days). The application of 2% Pycnogenol decreased the healing time by almost 3 days, while 5% Pycnogenol further accelerated the wound-healing process. In parallel, Pycnogenol gels reduced the diameter of the scars remaining following complete scab loss in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, Pycnogenol is a potent active ingredient for the treatment of minor injuries.

Evaluation of the Protective Effects of Chinese Herbs against Biomolecule Damage Induced by Peroxynitrite

“…Propolis has been certified to possess a broad spectrum of biological activities such as antioxidative, 21) antitumorial, 22) and antimicrobial. 23) Likewise, a pine bark extract and rosemary extract have been used in traditional medicine for wound healing, 24) DM and stomach problems. 25,26) All those extracts proved in the present study that they could react with nitric oxide and superoxide to protect against peroxynitrite oxidation and nitration reactions.…”

French Maritime Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol®) Effects on Human Skin: Clinical and Molecular Evidence

“…We restrict this review to three major health effects associated with oral supplementation of Pycnogenol®: (i) prevention of UV radiation-induced skin damage, (ii) modulation of skin pigmentation and (iii) improvement of skin barrier function/extracellular matrix homeostasis, because they are supported by human in vivo studies. We thus do not discuss in vitro studies on the effects of Pycnogenol® on cultured skin cells because their clinical relevance remains to be shown, and we did not include studies on the topical application of Pycnogenol® on mouse or human skin either [5,6,7]. …”

Pycnogenol® Effects on Skin Elasticity and Hydration Coincide with Increased Gene Expressions of Collagen Type I and Hyaluronic Acid Synthase in Women

“…In other words, Pycnogenol contains a variety of bio-active molecules which are known to exert beneficial effects on skin cells in vitro or in animal studies [3] . In addition, previous studies on Pycnogenol effects on human skin indicate that Pycnogenol supplementation improves human skin conditions including chronic venous insufficiency [4,5] and skin inflammation [6,7] . Pycnogenol protects against oxidative stress in several cell systems by doubling the intracellular synthesis of anti-oxidative enzymes and by acting as a potent scavenger of free radicals [3,8] .…”