Maritime pine bark extract evidence

Maritime pine bark extract, sold as Pycnogenol, has been tested in randomized trials for gum inflammation, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. A 2020 Cochrane review found very low certainty evidence for the outcomes it checked, and most trials ran four weeks to six months.

That is the short answer. The longer one involves a kettle, a fridge and a Colorado afternoon, so settle in.

What is maritime pine bark extract?

Maritime pine bark extract comes from the bark of Pinus pinaster, the maritime pine that grows along the coast of southwest France. The best-known branded version is Pycnogenol, much as ashwagandha is often standardized to 5% withanolides. It is rich in bioflavonoids, predominantly proanthocyanidins, which are antioxidants, according to a 2020 Cochrane review of pine bark extract.

Maritime pine bark extract evidence

The widest look so far is a 2020 Cochrane review that pooled 27 randomized trials and 1641 participants across 10 chronic disorders, from asthma and ADHD to diabetes and osteoarthritis. Trials lasted between four weeks and six months. The review rated the evidence very low certainty for the outcomes it checked, which is a careful way of saying the studies were small, short and often unclear about bias. A single trial can still be suggestive, the way the elderberry flight trial was, but it is not the whole picture.

Study	Daily amount	What it looked at	Bottom line
2025 periodontal RCT	100 mg twice daily	Saliva and serum inflammatory markers after plaque removal	Salivary MMP-8 and serum IL-6 fell versus placebo
2019 cardiometabolic meta-analysis	Varied across trials	Blood sugar, blood pressure, BMI and cholesterol	Small average improvements; authors want longer trials
2020 Cochrane review	Varied across trials	10 chronic disorders across 27 trials	Very low certainty for the outcomes checked
2024 post-COVID protocol	200 mg daily	Perceived health status after 12 weeks	Protocol only; results not yet reported

Does maritime pine bark extract lower blood pressure?

A 2019 meta-analysis in Pharmacological Research pooled twenty-four randomized trials with 1594 participants and found small average drops in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, along with lower fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, BMI and LDL cholesterol, and a small rise in HDL. The authors say pycnogenol may have a role in cardiometabolic health and ask for longer, better trials.

Maritime pine bark extract for gums

The most recent single trial is a 2025 randomized controlled trial in Nutrients that gave 91 people either Pycnogenol at 100 mg twice daily or a placebo after professional plaque removal. Over three months the Pycnogenol group showed lower salivary MMP-8 and lower serum IL-6 than placebo, and higher levels of certain polyphenols in saliva, including ferulic acid, caffeic acid and a gut metabolite called M1. Bleeding on probing tracked inversely with M1.

Maritime pine bark extract and lipedema

One small trial, a 2025 study in Cureus, followed one hundred people with lipedema for 60 days. The group taking Pycnogenol reported better scores on a quality-of-life questionnaire over 30 and 60 days, and showed reductions in weight, BMI and body fat percentage, while the placebo group's scores worsened. It is one trial in one condition, so treat it as a starting point rather than an answer.

Maritime pine bark extract for long COVID

A 2024 protocol in Trials called PYCNOVID plans to test 200 mg of Pycnogenol daily for 12 weeks against placebo in 150 people with post-COVID-19 condition, measuring perceived health status. It is a protocol, so there are no results yet; the field is still filling in.

Maritime pine bark extract dosage

Doses in the trials ranged from 100 mg twice daily in a 2025 gum trial to 200 mg daily in a 2024 post-COVID protocol, with a 2019 meta-analysis and a 2020 Cochrane review covering varied regimens across many studies.

Is maritime pine bark extract safe?

Safety was tracked in the trials above, and the 2020 Cochrane review assessed adverse events across its included studies. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a condition, check with your clinician before adding any supplement.

If you already take maritime pine bark, we happen to make Helm, a 231 mg blend of gotu kola, bacopa, astragalus, cistanche, maritime pine bark and Panax ginseng, one capsule a day.

FAQ

Does maritime pine bark extract lower blood pressure? A 2019 meta-analysis found small average drops in systolic and diastolic blood pressure across its pooled trials, but the authors call for longer studies before drawing firm conclusions.

How much maritime pine bark extract is used in trials? Doses range from 100 mg twice daily in a 2025 gum trial to 200 mg daily in a 2024 post-COVID protocol, with other studies using varied regimens.

Is maritime pine bark extract the same as Pycnogenol? Pycnogenol is a French maritime pine bark extract, as a 2024 protocol describes it, and most of the trials above use that branded ingredient.

What did the biggest review of maritime pine bark extract find? A 2020 Cochrane review pooled 27 trials across 10 chronic disorders and rated the evidence very low certainty for the outcomes it checked.

Can maritime pine bark extract help with gum inflammation? A 2025 randomized trial found lower salivary MMP-8 and serum IL-6 after professional plaque removal in people taking 100 mg twice daily, though it is a single study.

Sources

• Impact of a Dietary Supplementation with French Maritime Pine Bark Extract Pycnogenol® on Salivary and Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers During Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy-A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Trial: Nutrients, 2025 (Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
• Pine bark (Pinus spp.) extract for treating chronic disorders: The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2020 (Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Systematic Review)
• Effects of pycnogenol on cardiometabolic health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Pharmacological research, 2019 (Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review)
• Impact of Pycnogenol® Use in the Treatment of Patients With Lipedema: A Randomized Controlled Trial: Cureus, 2025 (Journal Article)
• Effects of Pycnogenol® in people with post-COVID-19 condition (PYCNOVID): study protocol for a single-center, placebo controlled, quadruple-blind, randomized trial: Trials, 2024 (Journal Article, Clinical Trial Protocol)

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.