OPCs (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidin Complex) are among today’s most potent and most promising antioxidant nutrients. Proanthocyanidins are a specific category of flavonoids, which only are produced by plants to defend them against invasions from funguses, toxins, and environmental stress. “Oligomeric” proanthocyanidins are particularly important to human health because the complex molecular structure makes them very active and potent antioxidants.

    OPCs are most plentiful in food sources including red wine, blueberry, cranberry (red bilberry), lingonberry, barley, and other foods. As a nutritional supplement, OPCs are extracted from botanical sources including grape seed (Vitis vinefera), white pine (Pinus maritima, Pinus pinaster), and other plants. The earliest described use of OPCs to cure disease dates back to the 1534, when the crew of French explorer Jacques Cartier’s winter expedition of North America was rescued from near-death by a Native American concoction of pine bark and needles. A substantial body of scientific literature now supports the value of OPCs in human health; most notably, OPCs have been shown to exert a beneficial effect in helping to combat various aspects of cardiovascular disease.

    OPCs inhibit atherosclerosis in different ways. Dr. Halpner and colleagues from Superior Institute for Health Sciences (Portugal) found that red wine extract prevents platelet aggregation by relaxing arterial tissue. In a study by Dr. Fremont and team from Laboratoire de Nutrition et Sécurité Alimentaire (France), a red wine extract containing 50% proanthocyanidins prevented oxidation of LDL in pigs. A group led by Dr.Auger from the Laboratoire Genie Biologique et Sciences des Aliments (France) determined that red wine extract reduced levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B (the protein component of LDL), while increasing the activity of an antioxidant enzyme produced by the liver by a remarkable 67%.

    In a study involving rabbits that were fed a highcholesterol atherosclerotic diet, Dr. Yamokoshi and colleagues from Kikkoman Corporation (Japan) found that the rabbits that also received grape seed extract avoided a ten-fold increase in their levels of peroxides (a marker of oxidation) that occurred in rabbits that did not receive the grape seed supplement. Dr. Yamokoshi’s work deteremined that the OPCs present in grape seed extract trapped the reactive oxygen species (ROS) before it could cause oxidation of LDL. Dr. Rong and team from Loma Linda University (California USA) found that bathing cells from arteries in a solution of pine bark extract protected them from oxidative damage.

    Atherosclerosis can lead to a condition known as ischemic reperfusion injury, a condition that OPCs have been found to ameliorate. In 2002, Dr. Pataki and colleagues from the University of Debrecen (Hungary) published results of a study in which they fed grape seed extract to rats for three weeks, then initiated ischemic reperfusion. They found that the incidence of arrhythmia was reduced by 50-70% (depending on the dose of grape seed extract), as compared to rats that were not fed the extract before ischemia. Additionally, the rats treated with a higher dose of grape seed extract recovered heart blood flow and pressure better than their untreated counterparts. Most notably, Dr. Pataki observed that free radical activity was reduced by 75% in the rats fed grape seed extract than those not fed it.

    In another study of grape seed extract, Dr. Sato and colleagues from University of Connecticut (USA) determined that the OPCs present in grape seed extract significantly inhibited the formation of reactive oxygen species, and also reduced the death of heart cells after ischemic reperfusion. This group of researchers had previously determined that grape seed extract OPCs were able to scavenge free radicals, thereby reducing the level of oxidative stress in the ischemic reperfusion state. Dr. Sato also has conducted evaluations that determined similar benefits of red wine OPCs for ischemic reperfusion injury. In 2002, Dr. Sato’s group found that red wine extract improves postischemic heart function while reducing the signal that prompts for heart cell death. Previously, Dr. Sato and team had also determined that the amount of oxidative by-products in ischemic reperfusion is reduced by red wine extract.

    OPCs have been shown to have a therapeutic effect in cardiovascular conditions including atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), by preventing changes to LDL cholesterol that promote artery clogging; and ischemic reperfusion injury, by maintaining regular heart beat and reducing heart cell death. As a result, we can consider nutritional supplementation with OPCs as an important way in which we can harvest nature’s anti-aging bounty. For an in-depth review of the multitude of potential therapeutic benefits of OPC supplementation in cobatting modern-day killer diseases and protecting cells from head-to-toe, we invite you to read The New Anti-Aging Revolution, available from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), the world’s leading non-profit medical organization dedicated to the advancement of technology to detect, prevent, and treat aging related disease and to promote research into methods to retard and optimize the human aging process.




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