Effects of Polyphenolic Extract from Pine Bark on the Improvement of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescent

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the hypothesis that intervention with the polyphenolic complex (PE) from pine bark improves the symptoms of ADHD and reduces oxidative stress in children and adolescent. Methods: It was a randomized, double-blind, crossover and placebo-controlled 10-weeks period study, including two interventional periods (4weeks/period) and one washout period (2 weeks). Data were from 8 participants with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at ages 7~16 years (seven boys and one girl). During the first interventional period, participants were received a capsule of PE from pine bark, which contain 25mg Oligopin® per capsule, or a capsule of placebo, which contains 25mg cellulose. Then, participants entered the washout period for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks of washout, the participants entered the second interventional period and crossed over to receive an Oligopin® or placebo capsule. Neuropsychological assessment, routine blood biochemical parameter and antioxidative status were carried out in this study. Results: All blood biochemical parameters were normal in the interventional periods. However, the lipid peroxidation was significantly decreased when participants received the PE capsules. Moreover, the participants had a significant higher hit accuracy, inhibition, sustainability in CPT-II performanceduring the PE interventional period. Conclusions: The administration of the polyphenolic extract from pine bark (25 mg/day) for one month might improve the inattention and impulsivity and reduce plasma lipid peroxidation levels in children and adolescent with ADHD.

Evaluation of the systemic toxicity and mutagenicity of OLIGOPIN®, procyanidolic oligomers (OPC) extracted from French Maritime Pine Bark extract

“…There were no statistically significant differences between the placebo control and Oligopin®-treated subjects with respect to the adverse events reported and Oligopin® was well tolerated. In a clinical trial reported by Chen et al [ 24 ] a dose of 25 mg/day of Oligopin® (appro x1 mg/kg/d) for 10 weeks to 8 yr old subjects had no effect on blood biochemical parameters, including liver function, kidney function, nutritional status, lipid profile, haematology and iron status. Thus, the lack of significant adverse systemic effects in the 90 day oral (gavage) study in rats is concordant with the findings in these human clinical trials.…”

Effects of Pine Bark Extract on Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults: A Randomized Double-blind Crossover Study

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Our previous study also showed that ADHD children who received 1 mg/ kg BW/day of PE showed the improvement effects on inattention and impulsivity, and reduction of plasma lipid peroxidation levels during a 4-week experimental period [9]. Therefore, we hypothesized that PE also could improve symptoms of inattention and impulsivity in adults with ADHD, which are well-correlated with elevated antioxidative status.

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Complementary effects of pine bark extract supplementation on inattention, impulsivity, and antioxidative status in children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder: A double‐blinded randomized placebo‐controlled cross‐over study

“…The 50% lethal dose (LD 50 ) of PE was >2,000 mg/ kg BW, and the no-observed-adverse effect level (NOAEL) was 1,000 mg/kg BW, as derived from a 90-day study of male and female rats (Segal et al, 2018). Previous studies also found that ADHD patients who received 1 mg/kg BW/day of PE showed no side effects during a 4-week experimental period (Y.-R. Chen, Su, Piriou, & Yang, 2017;Chovanová et al, 2006). Only one ADHD patient was reported to have had moderate gastric discomfort after PE supplementation in the previous study (1 mg/kg BW/day) (Chovanová et al, 2006).…”