Each Natrol Pycnogenol capsule contains 50 mg of Pine Bark Extract, providing 85% water soluble proanthocyanidins. Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract made from the bark of the Pinus Maritima and contains compounds that act as anti-oxidant free-radical scavengers. Fruits, vegetables, and herbs contain large amounts of powerful and protective antioxidant nutrients. The largest group of these nutrients is known to scientists as polyphenolic flavonoids - the same type of antioxidants found in Pycnogenol. Pycnogenol contains a rich and distinctive complex of more than 40 water-soluble antioxidants, including a variety of procyanidin compounds and organic acids. Water solubility enhances the bioavailability of Pycnogenol, which is composed mainly of proanthocyanidins, an extremely potent subclass of antioxidant flavonoids. Pycnogenol also contains many other related organic acids as well as other polyphenols, including biologically active hydroxy-cinnamic acids, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, epicatechins, and taxifolin - still other types of flavonoids - make up the rest of Pycnogenol. While all of these flavonoids are found in a broad range of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, this single supplement, Pycnogenol, provides an optimal combination of them in a concentrated form.
