menopausal symptoms

Helps treat menopausal symptoms

Pine-bark extract might offer a hormone-free alternative to reduce symptoms such as hot flashes in women entering menopause.

Pycnogenol, an extract of the bark of the French maritime pine tree [Pinus pinaster], contains a high concentration of antioxidant compounds that help prevent cell damage. It also seemed to ease symptoms of women starting menopause. Research suggests that the extract acts as an anti-inflammatory and may improve blood flow by enhancing blood vessel dilation.

Researchers from the Ham-Ming Hospital in Taiwan studied 155 women between the ages of 45 and 55 years entering menopause. At the study’s onset, fatigue, headache, vaginal dryness and menstrual problems were among the most common symptoms in the women. Roughly half of them were randomly assigned to take 100 mg of Pycnogenol, twice a day for six months; the rest took placebo capsules. All of them completed questionnaires on their symptoms at the outset, then again three and six months later. It was found that women in the Pycnogenol group reported improvements in symptoms ranging from hot flashes and sexual dysfunction to fatigue and depression. In addition, blood tests showed that the women's antioxidant levels climbed, while their cholesterol levels improved slightly. However, all symptoms tended to improve over six months of Pycnogenol treatment. In contrast, women who took placebo capsules generally showed no change, or sometimes worsening symptoms.

These findings are encouraging, since many women suffering from menopausal symptoms want an alternative to hormone replacement therapy, and pine bark extract may offer such an alternative.