Vascular System

This system is responsible for bringing nourishment to cells, removing wastes and providing a transportation system for immune and stem cells. Proper functioning of the heart and brain is dependent upon receiving oxygen and cellular nutrients, which is the responsibility of the vascular system.

Blood vessel walls are largely constructed of two proteins: collagen, which provides strength, and elastin, which gives it elasticity and suppleness. Blood vessel tissue is constructed of intertwined collagen strands that are connected by covalent bonds between hydroxyproline residues in the polypeptide strands, forming a structure known as a cross-link. The strength of tissue formed by collagen is dependent on sufficient cross-linking. However, oxidation causes excessive cross-linking, which, in the case of blood vessels, causes them to harden. This is also another suspected contributor to atherosclerosis.

OPCs inhibit the enzymes that tighten elastin protein and degrade collagen. OPCs also promote adequate cross-linking of collagen, directly supporting the strength of blood vessels. Dr. Mizutani and colleagues from Kyoto University (Japan) found that red wine extract administered for an 8-week period to rats bred to be stroke prone caused a significant relaxation of the aortic tissue (the main artery that feeds the heart). As a result, blood pressure and heart size were greatly reduced as compared to rats not fed the extract.

Venous insufficiency is a condition in which the veins and muscles (most often in the legs) fail to return blood properly to the heart. As a result walking becomes lpainful and difficult. OPCs have been shown to help. Dr. Costantini and team from the universita delgi studi (Italy) treated 24 men and women with OPC extracts. After just ten days, markers of swelling, itching, heaviness, and pain were significantly decreased in 19 subjects. On average, pain was reduced by 53% and itching by 80%. In 2002, German researcher Dr. Koch found OPC's from pine bark extract reduced leg swelling and improved the perception of pain and heaviness in men and women suffering from venous insufficiency. Dr. Koch's findings confirmed that of Dr. Arcangeli from the Universita delgi Studi di Firenze (Italy) in which leg swelling and pain disappeared in 60% of the patients, and leg heaviness disappeared in 33%.

OPC's also protect down to the most delicate of our blood vessels. The health of our caplillaries and microcapillaries, that interconnect the smallest artery branches to tiny veins, is vital to ensuring proper circulation. However, capillaries and microcapillaries tend to rupture easily and become porous, and these problems occur more frequently as we age. As a result the tissues fed by these tiny blood vessels become filled with water, cutting off circulation to eventually cause varicose veins and leg ulcers. OPC's have been found to improve caplillary strength and thus reduce the redness and swelling associated with these conditions.

Microcapillaries are a particularly important component of the structure of the eye, and vision can be impaired if we incur blockages or damage to the tiny blood vessels that nourish the cells of the eye. In healthy people, researchers from the Paris (France) flight training school found that OPC's improved night vision and vision after exposure to glare. Separate research in France also showed that OPC's repaired capillary damage involved in the vision disease known as retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness in diabetics.