Pine Bark Reduces Leg Ulcers in Diabetics

HOBOKEN, N.J.--For diabetics at risk of leg ulcers, which can lead to amputation, an extract of French Maritime pine bark (as Pycnogenol, from Natural Health Science) has been shown to reduce leg ulcers in patients who suffer from diabetic leg ulcerations. Published in the July journal of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Homeostasis (12, 3:318-23, 2006), results showed patients treated with oral and local Pycnogenol displayed a 74.4-percent decrease in ulcer size within six weeks.

The study randomly assigned thirty diabetic patients at the Chieti-Pescara University in Italy, who suffer from severe microangiopathy causing leg ulcerations, into four groups. Group 1 participants received 150 mg Pycnogenol orally and 100 mg topically--as powder applied to the ulcerated area. Group 2 participants received only oral Pycnogenol, while group 3 received only the topical treatment. Group 4 received no medical care other than routine ulcer care--a cleaning with warm water and a local disinfectant.

After six weeks of treatment, the most significant ulcer healing was seen in patients given the combined oral and local treatment, who experienced a 74.4-percent decrease in leg ulcer size. Group 2 patients taking only oral Pycnogenol experienced a 41.3-percent decrease in leg ulcer size, and group 3 patients taking only topical Pycnogenol experienced a 33-percent decrease in leg ulcer size. Group 4, the control group, experienced only a 22-percent decrease from daily disinfection of the ulcers. Overall, 89-percent of the patients treated with both oral and topical Pycnogenol were completely healed.

According to Gianni Belcaro, Ph.D. and a lead researcher of the study, the majority of diabetic leg amputations (common to the lower leg and feet) begin with the formation of skin ulcers. Impaired blood circulation in diabetics may cause tissue death and discoloration which leads to the development of ulcers; the open ulcer is then prone to infection and has difficulty healing.

"If left untreated, damage to blood vessels from diabetes then manifests in typical circulatory problems such as hypertension, from which 50-percent of type II diabetics suffer," he said. "Solid evidence shows that Pycnogenol effectively reduces high blood pressure, platelet aggregation, LDL cholesterol and enhances circulation."