Pycnogenol [Discontinued] by Swanson Premium Brand

INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although there has been interest in using oral Monterey pine for preventing CVD, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of Monterey pine for this condition.
• Cognitive function. It is unclear if oral Monterey pine bark extract improves cognition. Details: Preliminary clinical research shows that taking vitamin C 120 mg daily along with a specific product containing Monterey pine bark extract (Enzogenol, ENZO Nutraceuticals) 960 mg daily for 5 weeks improves response speed related to working memory tasks and immediate recognition tasks in middle-aged and elderly males when compared with baseline. Improvements in memory do not appear to occur with vitamin C alone (63620).
• Migraine headache. Although there has been interest in using oral Monterey pine for preventing migraine headache, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of Monterey pine for this condition.
• Neurological trauma. It is unclear if oral Monterey pine bark extract is beneficial in patients with neurological trauma. Details: A small clinical study in patients 3-12 months post-traumatic brain injury shows that taking a specific Monterey pine bark extract (Enzogenol, ENZO Nutraceuticals) 1000 mg daily for 12 weeks improves cognitive function scores when compared with placebo. However, measures of working memory, episodic memory, anxiety, and depression were not improved (105777). Another small clinical study in college students suffering from chronic concussion symptoms shows that taking a specific Monterey pine bark extract (Enzogenol, ENZO Nutraceuticals) 1000 mg daily for 6 weeks improves mental fatigue when compared with placebo (105779). More evidence is needed to rate Monterey pine for these uses.

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POSSIBLY SAFE ...when used orally and appropriately, short-term. A specific product containing Monterey pine bark extract (Enzogenol, ENZO Nutraceuticals) has been used with apparent safety at a dose of 1000 mg daily for up to 12 weeks (63614,63618,63620,105777) or 480 mg daily for up to 6 months (105778). There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of Monterey pine when used topically.

PREGNANCY AND LACTATION:
Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

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General ...Orally, Monterey pine seems to be well tolerated. Topically, no adverse effects have been reported. However, a thorough evaluation of safety outcomes has not been conducted.

Dermatologic ...Contact dermatitis from Monterey pine sawdust has been reported (63615).

Immunologic ...Monterey pine pollen may cause seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis (63612).

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