Effect of natural polyphenols (Pycnogenol) on oxidative stress markers in children suffering from Crohn's disease – a pilot study

Abstract

Crohn's disease (CD) is a nonspecific, chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. It is supposed that in etiopathogenesis oxidative stress (OS) plays a role. However, its precise role in the active and non-active states of disease is not known yet. We conducted a pilot study focusing on the relationship between OS of CD in remission and the possibility to influence clinical parameters and markers of OS by polyphenolic extract, Pycnogenol® (Pyc). Compared to 15 healthy controls 15 pediatric CD patients (all were in remission according to their disease activity index - PCDAI) had reduced the activity of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and increased the oxidative damage to proteins. We found negative correlations between markers of inflammation (calprotectin, CRP) as well as between PCDAI and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Activities of antioxidant enzymes, SOD, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) negatively correlated with calprotectin and PCDAI. Pyc (2 mg/kg) positively influenced the parameters of OS in CD patients after 10 weeks of administration.

Dietary Polyphenols in the Aetiology of Crohnʼs Disease and Ulcerative Colitis—A Multicenter European Prospective Cohort Study (EPIC)

“…CD patients have higher ONOO − (peroxynitrite) content, a by-product of iNOS (the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthases (NOS)) that is highly expressed in activated macrophages and neutrophils of colonic mucosa (24). Finally, polyphenols possess not only antioxidant properties but also other bioactive functions including vasodilatory, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic effects, as well modulating signalling pathways influencing inflammation such as phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and the induction of NF-kB and MAPK signalling pathways (25). Most polyphenols were associated with a decreased odds of CD, although the trends were only statistically significant for flavones and resveratrol.…”

Health-Promoting Properties of Proanthocyanidins for Intestinal Dysfunction

“…To date, there are few clinical studies that evaluate the influence of PACs on intestinal inflammatory conditions. A pilot study was conducted on paediatric Crohn's disease patients in remission to test the possibility of influencing oxidative stress markers with a procyanidin-rich bark extract from the French maritime pine (Pycnogenol ® ) [142]. Patients showed reduced antioxidant defenses and increased oxidative stress markers at the beginning of the study compared with healthy controls.…”

ROS in gastrointestinal inflammation: Rescue Or Sabotage?

“…Antioxidant and vitamin dietary supplements are still considered a therapeutic option due to their low risk of side effects. Polyphenols were found clinically beneficial in both UC (Dryden et al , ) and CD patients (Kolacek et al , ), whereas vitamin supplementation particularly vitamin D, whose deficiency is associated with IBD incidence/activity (Torki et al , ), reduced the risk of relapse in a cohort of patients with CD (Jorgensen et al , ).…”