Pycnogenol

Pycnogenol is a standardised extract from the bark of the French maritime pine, Pinus pinaster. The trees grow in the Les Landes forest in south-west France. The bark is rich in procyanidins: plant compounds that also occur in grape seed, berries and cocoa. Standardised means the procyanidin content of each batch stays inside a fixed range, so one capsule is comparable to the next. Pycnogenol itself is a registered trademark of Horphag Research, and you will find it here alongside the other extracts in our antioxidants range.

Not every pine bark extract is Pycnogenol

This is the difference most labels blur. Pine bark extract is a general description. Species, extraction method and procyanidin content vary per producer, and some products list only a plant name and a milligram figure. Other standardised extracts exist too, such as Oligopin and Flavangenol, each with its own composition. Research on one extract cannot simply be transferred to another. So if a specific extract matters to you, read the ingredient list and look for the trademark, not just the words pine bark.

Forms, strengths and how people take it

The choice here is narrow, which makes it simple. Almost everything is a capsule or a tablet, usually 30 mg to 100 mg per piece. Loose powder and topical creams exist, but they are uncommon in the UK.

• Capsules hold the finely ground extract and are normally vegan, with a hypromellose shell (hypromellose is plant cellulose).
• Tablets often come in lower strengths, so two per day is a common instruction.
• Combinations pair the extract with vitamin C or amla. If that appeals to you, check the dose against a single ingredient product and against our range of vitamin C.

Most manufacturers advise taking it with a meal, and splitting a higher daily amount over two moments in the day.

How we choose the pine bark extracts we stock

We judge a pine bark extract on three things: the extract itself, the amount per capsule, and the combinations around it. We prefer a named, standardised extract with a stated procyanidin range over a vague pine bark powder, because then you can check what you are actually taking. Combinations only make sense to us when every ingredient still carries a sensible dose of its own, so we skip formulas built around a token few milligrams. We buy directly from the brands, and every product passes our compliance team before it goes live. If you want the full reasoning, read how we select brands.

Who it suits, and what we will not promise

Pine bark extract suits people who have their basics covered and want to add one concentrated plant polyphenol. It is not a first supplement. Be aware of the price: a trademarked, standardised extract costs more per gram than generic pine bark powder. What you pay for is the fixed composition and the body of research built on it. If consistency matters to you, that is money well spent. The human studies with this extract ran from two weeks to six months, so treat it as a daily habit and give it about a month before you form an opinion. On claims we stay strict. The European food safety authority (EFSA) has approved no health claim for pine bark extract, so we do not make one. We tell you the species, the standardisation and the dose, and you decide. If you are weighing up options for skin and ageing more broadly, our collagen powders and capsules sit in a different category altogether.