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09.11.2021

Pycnogenol prevents water retention during air travel

Every bodybuilder who participates in international competitions knows that the body will retain more fluid after long flights. People with cardiovascular diseases who have to deal with edema know it too. Pycnogenol supplementation may provide relief, a 2005 study suggests.

Study
Italian researchers at G D'Annunzio University and L'Aquila University experimented in the early 21st century with 169 subjects who had to travel in an airplane for 7-12 hours at a time.

The subjects had a slight to moderate risk of thrombosis and took 2 capsules 2-3 hours before departure. On the plane they took another 2 capsules, and the day after their arrival they took another capsule.

Half of the subjects were given capsules without active substances. The other half received capsules with 100 milligrams of Pycnogenol per capsule.

Sponsored or not?
The researchers write that their study was not sponsored. Strictly speaking, this may possibly be true. Horphag, the producer of Pycnogenol, did not directly pay for their study.

Because involved researchers have patents for the use of Pycnogenol, and some co-authors of the study are on Horphag's payroll, we consider the study as sponsored anyway.

Results
Before and after the flight, researchers and the subjects themselves assessed the extent to which the subjects retained water. Based on these evaluations, the researchers calculated an edema score [Edema score].

In the placebo group, the mean edema score increased by 58.3 percent. In the Pycnogenol group, this was only 17.9 percent.

Unknown
The research does not clarify exactly how Pycnogenol works. However, the study shows that serious side effects did not occur.

In the first paragraph of this web post, we talked about bodybuilders. In this group of athletes - disregarding the naturals for a moment - pharmacology plays a major role. We do not know whether and how Pycnogenol interacts with the choice of drugs that pharmacological bodybuilders use.

Source:
Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2005 Jul;11(3):289-94.

More:
Echinacea protects air travellers 18.11.2012

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