PINE BARK COULD ALLEVIATE HAEMORRHOID PROBLEMS
A new study has established that French maritime pine bark extract - pycnogenol - could alleviate the pain and bleeding associated with haemorrhoids. Researchers from the University of Munster in Germany- led by Professor Peter Pohdenwald - in collaboration with Italian scientists from G D'Annunzio University, recruited 84 people suffering from external hemorrhoids to participate in their randomised, controlled, comparative study. The found that a daily supplement of pycnogenol for seven days reduced pain around the anus from an initial average of 3.2 points on a four-point pain scale to about 0.8 at the end of the study. The researchers noted that the flavonoid profile of the pine bark extract may be behind the effects. "Unlike other flavonoid species, Pycnogenol significantly improves endothelial function which could contribute to the decreased ischemia (inadequate blood supply) and intravascular thrombus (clotting) found in our study," they stated. The study was funded by Horphag Research, manufacturers of Pycnogenol and the finding were published in Phytotherapy Research.