What are Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins? The following is from "Prescription for Nutritional Healing (Balch, 1997, p 45): "Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are naturally occurring substances present in a variety of food and botanical sources. They are unique flavonols that have powerful antioxidant capabilities and excellent bio-availability. Clinical tests suggest that OPCs may be as much as fifty times more potent than vitamin E and twenty times more potent than vitamin C in terms of bio-available antioxidant activity. In addition to their antioxidant activity, they strengthen and repair connective tissue, including that of the cardiovascular system, and they moderate allergic and inflammatory responses by reducing histamine production. "OPCs are found throughout plant life, however, the two main sources are pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) and grape seed extract. Pycnogenol was the first source of OPCs discovered, and the process for extracting it was patented in the 1950s. As a result, even though Pycnogenol is a trademarked name for pine bark extract, the term is often used informally to refer to other OPC sources as well, most notably grape seed extract." Works Cited: Good source of OPC: Schiff |