Pycnogenol® Fights Menstrual Cramps

Many women experience menstrual cramps and pain. These gynecological disturbances could be caused by an inflammatory process with a higher production of free oxygen radicals.

A clinical investigation in Japan on patients with severe menstrual pain was performed to detect the effect of a supplementation with Pycnogenol®.

Pycnogenol® was used because it contains constituents with a spasmolytic action, so that it can counteract cramps, and, it is one of the most potent natural antioxidants, so it has also an anti-inflammatory action.

The outcome of the study showed a clear improvement in terms of reduction of cramps and pain in 73 % of the women following administration of 30 mg Pycnogenol® /day for one month.

Taking into consideration the low mean body weight of Japanese women, dosage has to be increased considerably in other countries for women with higher body weight.

Tolerance of treatment was very good, as minor side effects were reported prolongation of menstrual cycle in 2.5 % of patients and prolongation of menstruation in 2.5 % of the women.

1. Kohama T, Suzuki N. The treatment of gynaecological disorders with Pycnogenol®. Eur Bull Drug Res 7: 30-32, 1999.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disorder with a varied symptomatology including chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and infertility. Recent evidence suggest that a local peritoneal inflammatory process is relevant for the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Patients with clinically diagnosed endometriosis were treated with 30 mg Pycnogenol® per day for 14 days since 7 days before menstruation. Abdominal pain was reduced in 80 % of the patients and cramps disappeared in 77 % of the cases (Kohama and Suzuki, 1999). The supplementation was well tolerated, there was no withdrawal from treatment. That observed reduction of symptoms of endometriosis is most probably caused by some phenolic acids contained in Pycnogenol®. It had been found in pharmacological experiments that these acids have a spasmolytic action (Ortiz de Urbina, 1990). Together with the general anti-inflammatory action of Pycnogenol®, the reduction of cramps explains the great reduction of abdominal pain which had been observed in the investigation of Kohama and Suzuki (1999).

1. Kohama T, Suzuki N. The treatment of gynecological disorders with Pycnogenol®. Eur Bull Drug Res 7 (2): 30-32, 1999.
2. Ortiz de Urbina JJ. Antispasmolytic activity on rat smooth muscle of polyphenol compounds caffeic and protocathechic acids. Phytother Res 4: 71-76, 1990.