The very picture of health: OPCs

J. Jamison Starbuck

How flavonoid plant colors help paint a rosy portrait of health, indeed

I credit the Canadians with exposing me to the healthful benefits of pine, specifically pine bark.

Like many kids, my friends and I had often played with pine needles; we used them as wildcrafted toothpicks, chewed them for a change of flavor, gathered them to make dry floors for "forts" and hideouts in our patch of woods, and delighted in the quick crackle and spark that a handful of dried pine needles would make in a campfire.

A bitter-sweet memory

It was in Canada, though, that I first sampled pine bark as a beverage. Although I can't today recall its name, a clear, carbonated drink brewed from the bark of a maritime pine species was all the rage at the Montreal Expo some decades ago (the year 1967, I believe). Purported to be delicious, refreshing, and healthful, it was served in big, clear, icy-cold glasses designed, I am sure, to make the beverage irresistible on a hot summer day.

I ordered a glass, took a big gulp ... and found my mouth uncontrollably puckered up! It tasted like liquid pine sap -- bitter, pungent, and, sadly, not at all the delicious flavor I had expected. While that experience turned me off to the notion of ingesting pine bark, at least in beverage form, my work as a naturopathic physician has taught me to reconsider the medicinal value of this admirable' tree.

The history of pine bark & flavonoids

Our Canadian neighbors were quite right about the medicinal properties of pine bark; natives had been using it for centuries as a medicinal tea. During the 1500s, French explorer, Jacques Cartier, was introduced to pine bark tea, and found that consuming it reduced the symptoms of scurvy. As most people know, scurvy is a deficiency disease, resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early explorers, particularly sailors, often suffered with scurvy because their long journeys did not allow them to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. According to history, Cartier and his crew found that drinking pine bark tea reduced their scurvy-related symptoms of weakness, joint pain, muscle aches, and bruising.

The biochemist, Albert Szent-Gyorgi, became famous for his pioneer work with flavonoids and vitamin C -- winning the Nobel Prize for his work in 1937. Szent-Gyorgi worked with vitamin C extracted from lemons. Michael Murray, N.D., author of the Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements, explains how Szent-Gyorgi discovered flavonoids after helping a friend who suffered with bleeding gums. The story goes that when Szent-Gyorgi gave his friend a rudimentary extract of vitamin C, the bleeding gums improved. When he tried a more pure extract, the bleeding was less well controlled. From this process, the scientist understood that it was not the vitamin C but something else in lemon extract that was curative.

He then went on to isolate flavonoids, a group of compounds he called "vitamin P," because of its ability to decrease the permeability of blood vessels.

We now know that there are over 4,000 flavonoid compounds. Flavonoids give fruits and flowers their colors, and they bestow a variety of health benefits to those who consume them. Pine bark and grapes are high in flavonoids, particularly in a flavonoid group known as proanthocyanidins, or more specifically, oligomeric proanthocyandins (OPCs). Other sources of OPCs include dark colored fruit, such as blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and purple grapes.

OPCs are one of the most desirable groups of plant pigments, because they offer protection against some very serious, life-threatening diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, as well as conditions such as inflammation, allergy, and retinal degeneration. One of the most noted properties of OPCs is as a free-radical scavenger -- a seek-and-destroy missionary protecting our health.

Free radicals and aging

Free radicals are molecules which occur during normal body processing. They are highly reactive because they contain an unpaired electron that wants, and seeks, to be paired. In attempting to join up with certain molecules, free radicals grab electrons from other molecules, destroying body components and, ultimately, causing cellular damage and disease. Scientists speculate that free-radical damage may be the initiating factor in many cancers and in heart disease. Free-radical damage is also known as "oxidative" damage, because it is naturally fed by oxygen (or "oxidants"). Oxidative damage is one key factor in the biological process known as aging.

In contrast to free radicals, antioxidants, as their name implies, protect against this oxidative damage. Antioxidants slow down the oxidative process, reducing free-radical damage, and possibly slowing the aging process. Vitamin C, the carotenoids (e.g., beta- and alpha-carotene), vitamin E, and selenium are common, time-tested antioxidants. Flavonoids, and among them OPCs, are also powerful antioxidants.

The best targets for OPCs' mission of health protection

Heart disease.

People with heart disease, or a family history of heart disease, are among those who can benefit from consuming, and supplementing with, flavonoids, particularly OPCs. As is now common knowledge, a high-fat diet (in particular, one high in saturated and trans-fats) increases our risk of free-radical damage to the body. Fats are easily oxidized, which gives rise to the release of toxic metabolites stored in fat and to the generation of free radicals. These free radicals damage internal body structures, such as blood vessels and cardiac tissue, setting the stage for the build up of plaque, constriction of blood flow, and, eventually, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart attack.

Because OPCs trap free radicals, these nutrients can reduce the damage induced by the oxidative process. A recent British study demonstrated that grape seed extract, taken daily, resulted in increased serum (a component of blood) total antioxidant activity. The study was small, using only 20 volunteers, and the subjects were young and healthy. While the authors remain cautious, and recommend further clinical trials, the results are encouraging.

Macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration and cataracts are the leading causes of blindness and visual impairment in the United States and Europe. Estimates indicate that over 150,000 Americans suffer with blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration. In persons over 65 years of age, macular degeneration is second only to cataracts in causing decreased visual acuity.

The most common form of age-related macular degeneration is the "dry," or atrophic, form, a process wherein the cells of the inner layer of the retina change, and swell, resulting, initially, in blurred vision, and, ultimately, in a loss of central vision. As with vessel damage in heart disease, age-related macular degeneration is also caused by free-radical damage -- in this case, to the tissues of the eye. As with heart disease, the old cliche applies: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Like all chronic diseases, diet and lifestyle are essential components in the prevention and treatment of macular degeneration. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and a lifestyle that includes regular exercise and an avoidance of cigarette smoke and environmental pollutants, will provide much of what is necessary to prevent degeneration of eye health.

Additionally, OPCs are a good form of preventative and, in some cases, curative medicine in macular degeneration. Clinical studies using Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo), Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry), and Vitis vinifera (grape seed) indicate that OPCs can both reduce the incidence and the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration. In trying to determine which of these plants to use, it is important to look at the whole health picture of the individual. In a person who has both macular degeneration and inadequate blood flow to the brain, and perhaps some memory loss or a history of strokes, ginkgo would be a sensible choice. In a younger person with simple macular degeneration, bilberry is specific for treating damaged eye tissue. Grape seed, on the other hand, is well indicated Where there is poor night vision, or bright light intolerance, in conjunction with retinal damage.

Varicose veins.

As a family physician, I see a lot of patients with blood vessel problems.

Among the most common is varicose veins, a condition which occurs in all ages and both genders. Particularly susceptible are pregnant women, older people, and those who work standing on their feet all day, like barbers and restaurant workers.

Capillary fragility, which shows up in people as little bursts of tiny red blood vessels near the surface of the skin, is also common. It often appears in spots where the body has been stressed, around the knees or ankles, and can also appear on the face.

For both of these common conditions, flavonoids have a beneficial effect. OPCs, as a safe and relatively inexpensive supplement, are part of the regimen I often recommend to patients with these ailments.

For preventative purposes, I recommend 50 mg daily of either grape seed or pine bark extract. In cases of severe macular degeneration or significant heart disease, I often recommend as much as 300 mg daily.

Fruit or tree?

Good quality commercially available extracts of both grape and pine bark extracts contain at least 80 percent OPCs. In deciding between the two plants, price, availability, and personal preference should guide.

REFERENCES

Bagchi, D., et al. "Oxygen free-radical scavenging abilities of vitamins C and E, and a grape seed proanthocyanidin extract in vitro," Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol 95(2):179-89, February 1997.

Erasmus, Udo. Fats and Oils. Vancouver, Canada: Alive Books, 1986.

Miller, A. "Antioxidant flavonoids: structure, function and clinical use," Alternative Medicine Review 1(2):103-111, 1996.

Murray, Michael. Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements. Rocklin, Calif.: Prima Publishing, 1996.

Nuttall, S.L., et al. "An evaluation of the antioxidant activity of a standardized grape seed extract," Journal Clinical Pharmacologic Therapeutics 23(5):385-9, October 1998.

Scharrer, A. and Ober, M. "Anthocyanosides in the treatment of retinopathies," Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd 178:386-9, 1981.

Jamison Starbuck, J.D., N.D., is a licensed naturopathic and homeopathic physician. Her Missoula (Montana)-based family practice treats the whole person via constitutional homeopathy, botanical medicine, nutrition, counseling, and other natural modalities. Dr. Starbuck is also a consulting editor for Time-Life Books.

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