Summary: FrenchGlory ® isotonic OPC antioxidants are designed to reflect at least 3 aspects of French OPC: 1) the highest quality of OPC ingredients; 2) the longest history of OPC; 3) the unique French culture. Oligopin ® French maritime pine bark extract OPC is among our 3 native OPC ingredients from France that have special meaning. There are several international versions of French maritime pine bark extract OPC on the market, such as Swiss version of French OPC, Dutch version of French OPC, UK version of French OPC, Japanese version of French OPC, Chinese version of French OPC. Oligopin ® OPC is a French version of original French maritime pine bark extract of the highest quality, manufactured and certified in DRT Nutraceutics, a native French company!
Early history of pine bark extract OPC up to 1990
1. French explorer Jacques Cartier:
A legendary story of pine bark extract OPC has had a history of 450 years. Based on a written account of an event happened in 1534, when French explorer Jacques Cartier led a ship traveling in ice near Quebec, Canada, the ship became stranded, and all Cartier's crew became severely sick. The sickness is called scurvy, caused by lack of vitamin C in diet. Quebec Indian told them to drink a brew made from pine bark and needles, and saved their lives. Back to Top
2. French Professor Jacques Masquelier (1922-2009):
Hundreds of years later, a French researcher Jacques Masquelier made scientific discoveries that can explain the effectiveness of this remedy. The substance existing in pine bark has strong antioxidant activity in the body, and greatly enhances the effectiveness of the vitamin C from the pine needles.
Professor Jacques Masquelier first invented OPC when he conducted research at the University of Bordeaux into the composition of the red skin that coats the peanut, and identified proanthocyanidins or Oligomeric ProCyanidins, OPC, in 1948. By then, Masquelier also heard the story of Cartier, when he was conducting research in Canada. This clue led Professor Masquelier to further investigate the chemical compositions in the pine bark. After numerous experiments, he made the OPC extract from French maritime pine bark (the bark of Pinus Pinaster, also known as Pinus maritima) and gave the name pycnogenol. He patented his discoveries as early as 1951. The best pine bark extract OPC as today is still made from the bark of European coastal pine trees called the Landes or maritime pine, a member of the Pineaceae family. Professor Masquelier, as a true “OPC Professor”, made at least 3 OPC extracts from 3 different OPC resources. Back to Top
3. The classic technique of pine bark extraction to make OPC
Pine bark used for OPC extraction is a byproduct in lumber industry. The OPC obtained as pine bark extract is, however, currently 3-6 folds as expensive as OPC grape seed extract, at the similar quality level. The OPC extraction from pine bark is very simple. It takes only warm water and pressure to extract the 3 major classes of substances: monomers, OPCs and polymeric proanthocyanidins. The price difference between the pine bark extract OPC and grape seed OPC manifests that pine bark extracts are technically more challenging to produce than grape seed extracts. One of the 3 reasons is that OPC is at least 3 folds more concentrated in grape seeds than in pine bark. The pine bark quantity needed to make pine bark extract of the same amount of OPC is at least 3 folds more than that of grape seeds for grape seed extract OPC. Back to Top
The raw OPC material extracted by this simple procedure may contain up to 30-90% of high molecular weight tannins (polymeric proanthocyanidins) that are not absorbable by human bodies, and contain other complex components that have no health benefit at all. Pine bark extract prepared this way has an OPC content (often at 30%) that is too low to be accepted. In fact, you may see, even today, many cheap OPC pine bark extracts on the market made in such an easy way. These cheap pine bark extract OPC ingredients may be labeled to have 95% or even 98% polyphenols, but only useful for formulating solid dosages such as OPC capsules and tablets.
We took 3 cheap pine bark extracts of this kind and test them simply by adding water. We easily see insoluble materials precipitating out on the bottom of the mixture. We filter out the insoluble materials to give a clear pine bark extract solution and the isolated solid. We let the clear OPC solution stand at room temperature over night, and we see more insoluble material forming on the bottom of the pine bark extract solution, which is again filtered off. The insoluble materials, separated from the pine bark extract by 3 filtrations, are individually extracted with ethanol. The ethanol solution is used for HPLC and LC-MS analyses, as compared with a high quality of OPC, indicating that the 3 solids are nothing but high molecular weight tannins – polymeric proanthocyanidins. Even a fairly good solubility of an OPC pine bark extract does not necessarily means a high quality, as the tannins also have certain solubility in water. Only the data from analytical laboratory can tell the existence of tannins / polymeric proanthocyanidins. Back to Top
The modern history of French maritime pine bark extract OPC
1. DRT emerges as a maker of pine bark extract OPC of the highest purity
From 1948-1990, the famous French OPC Professor and his group of researchers spent decades in refining the OPC extraction and purification technologies in France. He and his associates established a union of 3 manufacturers and a Broker in commercializing OPC of pine bark extract and grape seed extract. As one of the 3 collaborating manufacturers, DRT Nutraceutics was involved the production of OPC extracts at the industrial scale in 1986 -1991.
The famous scientific name (pycnoge----) for French maritime pine bark extract OPC was inked 3 decades ago by the pioneer French OPC Professor. It was registered as a trademark in US more than a decade later by a Swiss broker company, who was one of the partners in the collaborating union. The broker betrayed the collaborating union, and unitarily copied this pine bark extract name created by the French OPC inventor, and registered it in USA as a trademark without the ownership of the French inventor, and caused breakup of the collaborating union in several parts. This Broker also changed to a different manufacturer of pine bark extract, using totally different version of technologies, which produce the pine bark extract OPC of different quality. Consequently, the big trade name of French maritime pine bark extract OPC sold in US is not associated with the original version of the pine bark extract OPC, developed by the famous OPC Professor. Regardless of the reasons, the OPC inventor as the internationally renowned scientist, was deprived of his right in his invention and his creation by the legal system of US in the fierce commercial competition. It is a sad story for all scientists, while many scientists and scholars do not show even a basic moral standard and hide the historical controversies in their publications on the history of French maritime pine bark extract. Back to Top
After the breakup of the union, DRT as an independent company continued to invest in the OPC R & D since 1991, because the existing OPC extraction technology was far from being satisfactory by then. Professor Masquelier specified only 3 proanthocyanidin oligomers including dimmer, trimer and tetramer that have the specified health benefits. Isolation of OPC containing only 3 small oligomers from pine bark extract and grape seed extract met unexpected challenges. The technologies for grape seed extraction and pine bark extraction in 1990 could not allow a complete removal of higher molecular weight tannins / polymeric proanthocyanidins.
For the last 2 decades, DRT has made the world-greatest achievement in molecular separation technologies, and developed the world-most advanced and proprietary technologies in the refinement of OPC ingredients. Today, DRT proudly publishes, on its web site, the very detailed product specifications of their pine bark extract OPC ingredient – using a unique trade name Oligopin ®, with the unmatchable quality in the world. Back to Top
2. Historical disputes on trademark of OPC pine bark extract
“Pycno-----” had been used for more than a decade as a scientific term for OPC of 3 different sources in the scientific literature before it was registered by 1990 as a trademark of pine bark extract in USA by a Broker company, now in Switzerland with manufacture facility in U.K. In the early 1990s, there were severe trademark disputes related to French pine bark extract OPC, after the union of 3 collaborating manufacturers, established by the French OPC professor, broke up in several parts. The disputes took place by early 1990s between the Swiss company and INC - a Dutch company. INC attempted to claim the mark and sued the Swiss company in US and in France, won the law suit in France and lost in US, according to some internet resources related to OPC.
3. From Oligopin ® OPC to FrenchGlory ® OPC
In our early stage of OPC ingredient selection, we bought 3 OPC ingredients from 3 different vendors. They were said to be France-made by the sellers by phone. When we received the pine bark OPC product shipments, “MADE IN FRANCE” was printed on all the 3 shipment labels. However, the Certificate of Analysis and the standard OPC specification for 1 of the 3 products were issued by a Chinese company, located in China. We decided to return that OPC ingredient as we don’t like the hybrid version of French OPC ingredient. We then made 3 general rules in the OPC ingredient selections. One of them is: Back to Top
1) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in India or China.
2) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in Japan.
3) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in Switzerland.
4) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in U. K.
5) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in Netherlands.
6) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC, certified in USA. And
7) We don’t buy French maritime pine bark extract OPC from anywhere else, but a native French ingredient company.
The recognized OPC quality, recognized OPC history, recognized OPC culture, recognized OPC sciences, recognized OPC production facility, recognized OPC expertise, recognized OPC refining technologies, and recognized scientists related to OPC can only be represented by native French people, not by any other big trade names owned by the 3 OPC ingredient companies in 3 other countries - Switzerland, Netherlands and Japan. Back to Top
The term “French maritime pine bark extract” has been abused too much. The original name for French maritime pine bark OPC, created by the French OPC inventor, is now owned by a Swiss company. The last name of the French OPC inventor is owned by a Dutch company. Several other international companies are claiming "ORIGINAL" by citing the expired patents that were originally filed by the French OPC inventor. Things seem wrong with the legal system that all these historical generic names are booked by very few international companies as trade names against other companies in use of these terms for description of OPC history and science.
We think that French maritime pine bark OPC ingredient is only meaningful, if made and certified in a native French company. These thoughts led us to propose a unique trademark for our isotonic OPC products, which can concisely reflect all our 3 nativ OPC ingredients “MADE IN FRANCE”. Our trademark search effort concluded a term “FrenchGlory”, for our 3 isotonic OPC products. We will make the best to keep FrenchGlory ® absolutely competitive. An official registration application for the trademark has been filed for the OPC antioxidants. The only way to keep this trademark competitive is to use 3 nativ OPC ingredients of the highest quality made and certified by native OPC ingredient makers in France. The glory of 3 nativ French OPC ingredients will last with our 3 isotonic OPC antioxidant products over the world! Back to Top
and Treat Your Body with the World-best ® Antioxidants!
It Is Your Body! It Is Your Choice!
4. DRT leads the clinical studies of OPC pine bark extract
Oligopin ® French maritime pine bark extract OPC is among the 3 cardiovascular health ingredients that DRT currently commercializes, including Vitaflavan ® grape seed extract OPC and Phytopin ® pine phytosterol. After having demonstrated its efficiency in vitro and in vivo together with its absolute safety, DRT accomplished a number of clinical trials, demonstrating its efficiency in human bodies with its nutritional interest. Back to Top
DRT still leads clinical studies on OPC extracted from French Maritime Pine Bark from les Landes. One of the clinical studies was initiated by DRT and conducted by the CIC and the CHU of Bordeaux, and ended in 2008. The data firmly established the in vivo antioxidant potency of oligomeric procyanidins (OPC) extracted from French maritime pine bark from les Landes", and demonstrate the positive effect of the OPC supplementation in healthy subjects under high oxidative stress (smokers with a low intake of fruits and vegetables).
The study was conducted on 20 patients consuming daily 240 mg of pine bark OPC extracted from French Maritime Pine Bark from les Landes for 28 days and consisted in following the plasma level of MDA (Malonyldialdehyde) and the erythrocyte levels of SOD (Super Oxide dismutase) and GPx (Gluthation peroxidase). Back to Top
The positive effects of the OPC pine bark extract are statistically significant and are shown by the following 3 parameters:
A decrease of the MDA level of 9.7%
An increase of the SOD level of 11.1%
An increase of the GPX of 18.7%
These results show that the Pine bark extract OPC from French Maritime Pine Bark from les Landes exerts a clear positive influence on the activity of the antioxidant and peroxidation systems in human bodies under a strong oxidative stress. Back to Top
Chemical compositions of pine bark extract in general
Proanthocyanidins: oligomeric proanthocyanidins & polymeric proanthocyanidins;
Catechin, epicatechin, and taxifolin;
Phenolic acids: such as ferulic, caffeic, protocatechic, p-hydroxybenzoic and vanillic acid.
Solvents used for OPC pine bark extraction
The OPC extraction protocols are proprietary technologies, which the OPC ingredient manufacturers keep as their trade secrets, or file patent applications with limited disclosure of the details. Our ISOTONIC OPC ANTIOXIDANTS, INC. has the limited ability to know the detailed OPC purification technologies from OPC ingredient vendors and suppliers. But the general principles of OPC extraction can be easily understood from our PhD experts, specialized in OPC natural product chemistry and medicinal chemistry. Back to Top
In principle, for extracting and refining OPC, 3 often used solvents are: water, ethanol and ethyl acetate, which are safe and widely present in our daily foods such as bread, salad dressings, vinegars and wines. FDAs in North America and Europe have very strict regulations what organic solvents can be used for drug and dietary supplement industries. Solvents such as those containing benzene, halogen, cyanide, etc. are strictly controlled. It is extremely unlikely that an average credible manufacturer can boldly violate the GMP safety rules.
One of the possible OPC extraction techniques is liquid-liquid extraction. OPCs are more soluble in ethyl acetate than in water. An OPC raw material, water and ethyl acetate are mixed well by violent stirring, and stand still to allow the two phases to settle. And the two phases (two layers) are then separated to give ethyl acetate phase containing OPCs and other polyphenols, and the water phase containing sugars and other water soluble materials. This liquid-liquid extraction is just a general principle of separation technologies used in the general food industry. Such a similar procedure is used for many food products that are sold in grocery stores such as natural flavors and colors, as many consumers may or may not be aware. Back to Top
The ethanol residue in a final OPC ingredient is usually less than 300 ppm (0.03%), and that of ethyl acetate less than 30 ppm (0.003%, or 30 mg in 1 kg). This is very safe level even for some religious people who are prohibited from alcohol by religion. These low levels of alcohol and ethyl acetate are far below their natural levels in our common food such as in salad dressing and vinegars. The “natural level” means neither of them is specially added, but as is from the cooking process when yeast is used. The common food vinegars are made by specially controlled fermentation processes so that ethyl acetate level is kept in between 100 – 700 ppm. Ethyl acetate in our common food is formed between ethanol and acetic acid. If the fermentation process from ethanol to vinegar is allowed for too long, the resulting vinegar does not contain ethyl acetate. This is because all ethanol is completely consumed and ethyl acetate is also completely destroyed in the same time. And the resulting vinegar without ethyl acetate cannot be used for food as it does not taste good, but is for industrial use only with better purity.
Several OPC-related web sites are claiming that the “toxic organic solvents” are used for the OPC extraction by some “bad” manufacturers. Any knowledgeable scientists know that this is impossible almost anywhere. Toxic solvents such as methanol, benzene, halogenated chemicals, cyanides, etc. can be easily detected in any analytical chemistry labs. An OPC pine bark extract made from a toxic organic solvent cannot be used for dietary supplement, but for other purposes such as cosmetics or some basic research. The manufacturers of this kind of GMP violations would be prosecuted in no time. OPC consumers need no concern with the solvent safety issue, if a raw OPC extract is made in a credible GMP certified company. Back to Top
Some OPC sellers claim that their OPC is better than others’ as water is the only solvent used for their OPC extraction. This is not true, because the quality of an OPC extract cannot reach an acceptable level if only water is used for the OPC extraction and purification. Ethanol and ethyl acetate are much more expensive, and are necessary for OPC refinement in order to get rid of tannins / polymeric proanthocyanidins, which are potentially harmful to human body by interference with mineral absorption as strong metal chelators. Ethanol and ethyl acetate are absolutely safe as the OPC extraction solvents. Water as the solvent in OPC extraction does not provide any more safety advantage than alcohol and ethyl acetate.
Biological activities of pine bark extract OPCs
OPC pine bark extract acts mainly as an antioxidant by scavenging reactive oxygen and other radical byproducts, and suppressing production of peroxides. Pine bark extract OPCs increase NO production which induces vasodilation. In in vitro studies, pine bark extract OPCs have been demonstrated to be able to protect neuronal, and reduce neuronal apoptosis – the cause of Alzheimer's disease via a mechanism of decreasing free radical generation. As any antioxidant can assist antioxidant enzymes, pine bark extract OPC can largely stimulate antioxidant enzymes by increasing the intracellular glutathione levels. Pine bark extract OPC stimulate human immune system by blocking the NF-kB activation induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and by inhibiting production of adhesion proteins, which cause inflammation and atherosclerosis. Pine bark extract OPCs were demonstrated to induce and enhance apoptosis of human breast cancer cells in in vitro studies, while protecting normal breast cells. However, these scientific studies do not mean that pine bark extract can be used to treat or prevent any diseases according to the US FDA regulations on dietary supplement.
Pharmacokinetics of pine bark extract
Pine bark extract OPCs are a complex mixture of different compounds. This complexity brings tremendous challenge to the investigations of their bioavailability and metabolic pathways followed by pine bark extract OPC molecules. There was essentially not direct evidence for the bioavailability and metabolism of pine bark extract OPC 3 decades ago when it was first marketed in France. This bioavailability information required for the pine bark extract marketed as a pharmaceutical compound was adopted from that of grape seed extract OPC. This was because the bioavailability studies required a C14-labeled OPC extract, which was able to be made with the grape plant, cultivated in an atmosphere which contains ‘C14’-marked CO2 microphytotron. The same C14-labeled OPC extract could not be made with the pine bark as the pine tries are too big and take very long to grow. Without the bio-available data of grape seed extract OPC, pine bark extract would not have been able to be sold as a pharmaceutical product.
This real story that “the grape pip results have been extrapolated to pine bark extract”, tells us that the OPCs of different sources should have essentially identical biological activities, with negligible variations.
Pine bark extract OPC for heart hearth
The primary use of pine bark extract OPC is for cardiovascular health. There have been several clinical studies of pine bark extract related to heart health, even though they don't mean they can be used in treatment and prevention of any diseases based on FDA regulations on dietary supplements. There have been several publications on clinical investigations, in which pine bark extract OPCs from several sources are shown to help lowering cholesterol, and decreasing the risk and severity of atherosclerosis, relieve hypertension by lowering high blood pressure and stabilizing normal blood pressure. Symptomatic improvement of blood circulation, platelet function normalization, and venous insufficiency has been observed in controlled clinical studies in small scales. Evidences show that pine bark extract, when taken as a dietary supplement, can improve the circulatory system by strengthening capillaries and veins. Pine bark extract OPC keeps blood platelets from sticking together and forming hazardous blood clots. Pine bark extracts prevent oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and shields DNA from harmful effects of free radicals, as well as preventing free-radical induced endothelial damage in vitro. The further investigations using controlled clinical approaches are still necessary with larger scales of participants.
In animal studies, pine bark extract OPCs were demonstrated to reduce cardiotoxicity caused by antitumor drugs, such as doxorubicin, likely due to their free-radical scavenger property.
Examples of other health benefits of OPC pine bark extract
Positive results of clinical studies of pine bark extract OPCs have been published for osteoarthritis, gynecology, diabetes and its complications, thrombosis, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These results are very preliminary and not qualified for drug claims yet.
French pine bark extract of OPCs have been shown to improve microcirculation, retinal edema and visual acuity in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. The OPCs in pine bark extract have also been shown to help reduce swelling and inflammation in the body. In vitro and animal studies find pine bark extract OPC has anti-inflammatory properties and exhibits immuno-stimulant effects. OPCs inhibit the release and synthesis of certain compounds, such as histamine, serine protease, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes, which cause or stimulate inflammation. The pine bark extract OPC has been shown to have the properties of stimulating the immune system. The natural killer cell activity is stimulated and bolstered, and T- and B-cell function in animal subjects are enhanced in the studies. Pine bark extract OPC may also help healing stress-related ulcers and reducing histamine secretion. Pine bark OPCs can bind strongly with and protecting connective tissue in mucous membranes. More clinical studies are required before any medicinal effect claims for OPCs.
French maritime pine bark extract OPC is being tested as a nutritional supplement for disorders caused by free radicals, including Alzheimers disease, cancer, diabetes, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and senility.
Preliminary results suggest pine bark extracts are able to reduce menopausal symptoms in peri-menopausal women, relieve symptoms of dysmenorrhea, and improve osteoarthritic symptoms. Pine bark extract OPCs as dietary supplement help strengthening and repairing tissues made of collagen, a protein that builds blood vessels, skin, and connective tissue. OPC pine bark extracts are used to treat skin disorders such as hyperpigmentation, erythema, endometriosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Biological studies suggest that OPC may also offer anti-mutagenic benefits and can be helpful in averting or reducing chromosomal mutation. Pine bark extract OPC is used as a dietary supplement for obesity, as shown by results that pine bark extract OPCs inhibit insulin-induced lipogenesis and may stimulate lipolysis.
Some studies indicate that pine bark extract OPCs may have antiviral and antimicrobial activities. They suppress HIV attachment and replication, inhibit encephalomyocarditis virus (EMV) replication, and represses Helicobacter pylori growth and adherence to gastric cells. Pine bark extract OPC are found to relieve symptoms of endothelial dysfunction and chronic venous insufficiency. When used in conjunction with L-arginine, pine bark extract OPCs help improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction. All these scientific studies are preliminary, and do not mean that OPCs have any drug effects in treatment/prevention of any diseases.
Formulations for pine bark extract OPC
French maritime pine bark OPC extract is available in an isotonic form, the best preparation that OPC consumers should stick with. There had been at least 3 sellers of isotonic OPC antioxidants before FrenchGlory ®. We are the most competitive, as compared with other 3 sellers in terms of overall product quality and prices. We use the highest grade of pine bark extract OPCs from les Landes in France. Our isotonic OPC products are much more economical than the isotonic OPC from the other 3 sellers. One of them is a multilevel marketing company with a very high price that ordinary OPC consumers should avoid. Our isotonic OPC products have the superior quality to any other products of the same isotonic form. All the other 3 sellers of isotonic OPC antioxidants use OPC ingredients of unclear sources. We suggest that the consumers should not buy any other OPC products unless you can see by yourself the 3 OPC ingredient specifications published on the web site of the OPC ingredient manufacturers. Don’t trust their words by mouth without web disclosures of OPC ingredient specifications. Back to Top
It is even more problematic with OPC capsules and OPC tablets, which you can buy everywhere, cheap or expensive, good or bad. OPC capsules and OPC tablets are surely not good formulation for OPC nutrients, and provide less efficient absorption. Please see Why Isotonic OPC.
Side Effects, Interactions and Precautions
Pine bark extract OPC may interact with 3 chemotherapeutic drugs: anticoagulant, antiplatelet drugs and immunosuppressants. Consult your health professional if you take any prescription drugs. Children should not take OPC pine bark extract unless advised by a health care professional. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should not take pine bark extract OPC supplements without consulting your medical care professional. For precautions, people of anemia and people who take iron supplement should not take an OPC product.
Pine bark extract OPC has been extensively tested for safety, and no dangerous side effects have been reported with its use. However, a large intake of low grade OPC products may cause nausea, headache, a dry, itchy scalp, and even dizziness.
OPCs and polymeric proanthocyanidins have a strong affinity to bind with proteins and minerals in food and in human bodies. OPC tablets and capsules taken with food lead to slow and low OPC absorption due to the OPC-protein interaction. Isotonic OPC products are specially formulated so that the OPC – protein interaction is disrupted before absorption. Consequently, isotonic OPC allows fast and highly efficient absorption by human body without interference with absorption of other food nutrients. Polymeric proanthocyanidins in low quality OPC products may not be absorbed and may interfere with mineral absorption by human body. The quality is the key. Back to Top
Affordability for French maritime pine bark extract OPC
French maritime pine bark extract OPC is a very valuable source of natural product antioxidants, and is worth some spending under good financial situation of ordinary families. We must be, however, realistic and responsible to say that a pine bark extract of high quality is very expensive. Several raw OPC ingredients as French maritime pine bark extract of the highest quality are priced at $2,000 – 3,000 per kilogram. In the nutraceutical industry, a rule at thumb is that the price of a final OPC consumer product is 7-8 folds higher than the price of a raw OPC ingredient, because of the high costs of consumer product manufacture, whole sales, and retail sales.
A multi-level marketing OPC product of 3 months supply bottle, (each serving containing only 25 mg of pine bark extract), costs $69.95 plus S & H for 300 gram OPC powder . Other OPC ingredients including grape seed extract and red wine extract in the same product do not cost much. It is no brainer whether an ordinary income family should spend so much on an OPC product of low content pine bark extract. Back to Top
Consumers who are interested in the pine bark extract OPC product should spend some time and do some research to come out a strategy to challenge the affordability for French maritime pine bark extract OPC. It is worth some time in order to avoid wasting a lot of money. Considering the high cost of French maritime pine bark extract, consumers waste huge amounts of money to take OPC capsules and tablets that afford very low absorption rate due to the strong OPC interaction with food proteins, minerals, etc.
Other things that OPC consumers should know
French maritime pine bark extract OPC is among the most precious raw materails in the nutraceutical supplement industry, considering its quantity in each serving. Some OPC sellers play tricks that OPC consumers should be aware. A seller or a manufacturer of OPC consumer products does not tell you how much pine bark extract a product contains, while it is labeled with the term "French maritime pine bark extract". Such an OPC seller or manufacturer may make a huge profit in the name of "French maritime pine bark extract", but of a very limited quantity. The fact is that even some well-known international companies play a variety of tricks and make huge profits by misrepresentation.
OPC consumers should ask at least these 3 questions: Is a raw OPC ingredient of French maritime pine bark extract really made in France? Is it certified in a manufacturer located in France? Does the manufacturer have a web site in France that tells the OPC consumers the detailed ingredient information? Back to Top
We offer 3 valid strategies for OPC consumers to meet 3 affordability challenges:
1. Take only the isotonic form of OPCs of high quality for high and efficient absorption.
2. Take OPC of 3 different extracts: pine bark extract, grape seed extract and red wine extract.
3. Take the highest quality and reasonably priced OPC products.
and Treat Your Body with the World-best ® Antioxidants!
It Is Your Body! It Is Your Choice!
OPC grape seed extract and OPC red wine extract are much more economical with the same antioxidant activities as those of OPC pine bark extract. An OPC product of 3 natural sources is expected to be much more beneficial to human’s health than a single OPC source. Our FrenchGlory ® isotonic OPC products use a combination of 3 OPC extracts, including pine bark extract of the highest quality, grape seed extract and red wine extract. Our prices for OPC/300 g (or OPC/3-months supply) units are much lower than those of other competitors of isotonic OPC products. OPC quality is the key. It is not a good idea to switch to a low quality of pine bark extract OPC, which contains a lot of un-absorbable tannins / proanthocyanidin polymers. Back to Top
FrenchGlory ® offers OPC consumers 3 choices to take the best OPC products. The last one in the 3 choices would be to take only an OPC grape seed extract of the highest quality in an isotonic form, without the costly pine bark extract. All the clinical studies have proved that OPC grape seed extract has the similar health benefits as pine bark extract OPCs. FrenchGlory ® isotonic OPC110 provides the first isotonic OPC product using a grape seed extract of the highest quality as the key OPC component. You can buy it now at $26.80 for an OPC/300g bottle (or OPC 3-months supply).
Comparisons of Pine bark extract OPC products
There are hundreds of different pine bark extract products on the market. Other pine bark extract OPC consumer products are mainly made available in capsules and tablets of more than 300 different brand names. Such as Nature's Wei Pine Bark Extract, NII Pine Bark Extract 95% OPC, Source Natrls Opc Pine Bark Extract, Swnsn Superior Herbs Pine Bark Extract, Plantri Herbals Full Spectrum Pine Bark Extract, Ntrol Pine Bark Extract, Now Fds Pine Bark Extract, AmeriNutra pine bark extract.
Some info of several isotonic OPC products from 3 different natural sources is given on the page of Market of Amrica OPC 3 Month's Supply Products.
† These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration.
FrenchGlory ® isotonic OPC antioxidants are nutritional supplements, not intended to diagnose, treat, care or prevent any diseases.
Reference Outlines on OPC Pine Bark Extract
This is a section of information on OPC research related to pine bark extract. Published research articles are critically summarized by our OPC experts - 3 PhD scientists in natural product and medicinal chemistry. All the writings are original and unique, and are based on our critical reading and understanding of the original scientific papers. All copyrights are reserved.
Based on US FDA regulations on generic drugs and dietary supplements, we are legal in referencing published scientific results and any expired patents, which are not protected by any intellectual property laws.
The scientific philosophy is that the same underlying chemical entities have the same biological activities regardless their sources and makers. This principle constitutes the foundation of FDA regulations on generic drugs and dietary supplements, and is independent of any trademarks associated with scientific publications. Back to Top
We cite herein some published scientific results related to OPC pine bark extracts of a variety of sources and manufacturers. We remove any trademarks associated with these publications, and replace them with either general scientific names or generic names, in observation of Lenham Act on the trademark law, in order to avoid the existence of any competitors' trademarks in our website. Consumers take their own responsibility to trace back the original references for the sources of the OPC pine bark extracts for the cited publications.
WARNING: The published scientific studies don't mean that pinebark extract can be used to treat, cure or prevent any diseases, according to the US FDA regulations on dietary supplement.
1. Journal Title: Experimental Cell Research. January 2010; 316(1): 115-125.
Article Title: Up-regulation of calcium-dependent proteolysis in human myoblasts under acute oxidative stress
A commercial OPC French maritime pine bark extract was investigated for effect on peroxide-caused oxidative stress in the cell culture of human skeletal muscle satellite cells. The calcium-dependent proteases – calpains are involved in many transduction pathways including apoptosis. The activity of calpains has the critical role in satellite cell function. The effect of OPC pine bark extract on the activity of calpains was tested in specially designed experimental conditions, under which 3 parameters of calcium concentration, protein oxidation and apoptotic cell death were increased, so that a significant up-regulation of calpain expression and activity were observed. The increased activity of calpains stimulated ATP synthase, a major component of the respiratory chain. When OPC pine bark extract was added in this cell culture, the activity of calpains is significantly lower, as compared with the cell culture without treatment of OPC pine bark extract. This indicates that the hydrogen peroxide-induced effects are suppressed by the OPC pine bark extract, which, as a natural antioxidant, prevented up-regulation of calpains. The study also indicates a possible mechanism for the damages of satellite cell functionality by oxidative stress via calpain-dependent pathways. OPC pine bark extract as an antioxidant dietary supplement could prevent calpains-promoted apoptosis, and play the role of cytoprotection.
To be continued.
† These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration.
FrenchGlory ® isotonic OPC antioxidants are nutritional supplements, not intended to diagnose, treat, care or prevent general diseases.
Copyright © 2010-2011 Isotonic OPC Antioxidants, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Oligopin® - the World's Best Pine Bark Extract OPCs: History & Health Benefits
