Pine Bark Extract

Pycnogenol: pine bark discord

Six years ago I wrote an article about pycnogenol. It was a story about a man (Dr. Jacques Masquelier), his invention (the extraction process), and alleged trademark infringement, which prevents him from selling his product in the United States.

Pycnogenol is a scavenger of oxygen free radicals, and Dr. Masquelier’s website presents a long list of benefits attributed to pycnogenol. We await the supporting clinical trial results, however.

The point of this post is to update that original article. Dr. Masquelier (in his late 80s) is retired. His successors continue to defend the extraction process and their product.

7/1/06 9:33 JR

Hi, I’m JR

John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.