Holistic Health Service

PYCNOGENOL

Pycnogenol is the trade name for a new potent antioxidant nutrient that comes from the bioflavonoid family ofcompounds. It can be extracted from grapes, cranberries, beans and other fruits and vegetables but its richest source is from the French Maritime Pine Tree.

The discovery of Pycnogenol, perhaps accidental, can be traced to a French explorer over four hundred years ago. It dates back to 1535 when French explorer Jacques Cartier, on his 2nd voyage. of exploration to Canada attempted to sail up what is now known as the St. Lawrence River in Canada. But, this was a trip he would not soon forget.

It was winter and Cartier and his men were caught in the frigid snows of Quebec. Explorer Cartier and his crew tried to survive on biscuits and salted meat, but lacking fresh fruits and vegetables they became victims of the dreaded disease scurvy. Their teeth fell out, some even lacked the ,strength-to walk. About 25 perished before friendly Quebec Indians came to their rescue. The Indians were knowledgeable about the healing properties of trees and herbs and they prepared a tea derived from the needles and the bark of specific pine trees native to the area.

Cartier and his men drank the tea and applied the precipitate as a poultice. Within days the remainder of the crew were up and about, their gums stopped bleeding and their strength retumed. The tree bark proved remarkably effective. Of course, no one back then knew that pine needles contained vitamin 'C' and that the bark provided an abundance of flavonoids which enhance the body's ufilization of vitamin 'C'.

Fortunately, Cartier documented the pine tree incident in his travel log "Voyages Au Canada". Then more than 400 years later French professor Jacques Masquelier, on assignment at the University of Quebec, read Cartier's book and was particularly intrigued by his documentation on how the pine tree saved his expedition from being destroyed by scurvy. At this time Masquelier was deeply involved in his own research on bioflavonoids. He suspected, from Cartier's writings, that this particular tree must be rich in bioflavonoids.

Following considerable testing, Professor Masquelier isolated the active. components in samples of bark from this unique pine tree. These samples came from the St. Lawrence River area. Upon returning to France, he discovered that the richest source of this highly bioactive substance, called proanthocyanidins (or procyanidins ), Pycnogenol's active ingredient, were found in heavy concentrations in the bark of the French Maritime Pine (Pinus Maritima).

This tree is found in abundance in the huge Les Landes pine forest in southern France. The extensive research by Professor Masquelier, that led to the discovery of Pyenogenol, was supported and financed by Mr. Charles Haimoff, founder of Horphag Research Ltd. In October 1992, 1 met with Mr. Nick A. Mangeris in southern France. We enjoyed a tour of the Les Landes Forest, viewed local saw mills where the bark of the Maritime Pine was being removed and then visited the huge processing plant where Pycnogenol is produced from the Maritime Pine.