Pycnogenol Found to Help with Hemorrhoids

by | Jan 19, 2010 | 2010, Digestive Health, Pycnogenol

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Pycnogenol used at 300 mg per day and topical cream reduced the time of pain by 32%.

Hemorrhoids are one of the most common medical problems, characterized by swollen, inflamed veins in the buttocks. They result most commonly from constipation, but other factors include pregnancy and aging (1). Although more than half of the population develops hemorrhoids (2), only 20% visit a medical doctor (3). Of the 20% of the population that seeks treatment, nearly 1 in 5 will require surgery (4).

The medical approach for treating hemorrhoid attacks is very basic yet “very effective in improving signs and symptoms”. It includes dietary changes to lessen constipation, reducing sugar and alcohol, increasing intake of fluids and the use of fibers and stool softeners, and even exercise.

For acute attacks off hemorrhoids, both oral topical anti-inflammatory medications have been used (5). Now a new study (6) has found that Pycnogenol®, an extract from French Pine Bark, may help with hemorrhoids. Pycnogenol® has been found to have numerous benefits that include helping deal with lower leg swelling (7), helping with venous ulcers (8) and venous leg circulation (9) and even helping with pain (10),

In the study, 84 patients admitted to a local hospital with acute hemorrhoid attacks (within the last 2 days) were put in one of four groups:

  • Group 1: Pycnogenol® 300 mg (six 50 mg tablets) per day for four days, then 150 mg (three tablets) per day for three days.
  • Group 2: Placebo tablets.
  • Group 3: Same supplementation as Group 1 but an addition of topical 0.5 % Pycnogenol® cream
  • Group 4: Pycnogenol tablets and placebo topical cream.

Patients were then released from the hospital and followed on one of these protocols for 7 days and then were observed for an additional 7 days after the treatments were stopped. The patients provided feedback on their hemorrhoid pain through the use of a 100-point survey called the Karnofsky scale (11). They also kept a diary to keep track of social life and lost working days. They were permitted to ask for extra inflammatory medications to help with their pain.

When looking at pain duration, those in Group 3 (combined oral and topical Pycnogenol cream) had 32% shorter duration of pain (16 vs. 23.6 total hours of significant pain) than the placebo group, 10% shorter than Group 1 (oral Pycnogenol) 16 vs. 17.8 hours and 6% shorter than Group 4 (oral Pycnogenol and placebo topical cream) 16 vs. 17 hours. When looking at total treatment costs, those in Group 3 (combined oral and topical Pycnogenol cream) had 67% lower costs compared to the placebo group ($129 vs. $389.50), 43% lower costs compared to Group 1 (oral Pycnogenol) $129 vs. $225 and 42% lower than Group 4 (oral Pycnogeol and placebo topical cream) 129 vs $221

For the researchers, “This study indicates that Pycnogenol®, both in oral and in topical form, is effective for controlling this common, disabling health problem” and that “The application of Pycnogenol® eases the management of acute hemorrhoidal attacks and help avoid bleedings.”  The size of the trial groups was small, and individual results will vary. However the consistency of the benefits makes Pycnogenol® worth consideration.

Source: Belcaro, Gianni, et al. “Pycnogenol® treatment of acute hemorrhoidal episodes.” phytotherapy Research 24.3 (2010): 438-444.

© 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Posted January 19, 2010.

References:

  1. “Hemorrhoids” posted on the Medline Plus website.
  2. Chand M, Nash GF, Dabbas N. 2008. The management of haemorrhoids. 1: Br J Hosp Med (Lond) 69: 35–40.
  3. Pigot F. 2008. Haemorrhoidal disease. Rev Prat 58: 1763–1768.
  4. Loder PB. 1994. Hemorrhoids: pathology, pathophysiology anbaetiology. Br J Surg 81: 946–954.
  5. Misra MC. 2005. Drug treatment of haemorrhoids. Drugs 65: 1481–1491.
  6. Belcaro G. Pycnogenol® Treatment of Acute Hemorrhoidal Episodes. Phytother. Res. 2009. Published online , 2010 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.3021.
  7. Belcaro G. Prevention of venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis in long-haul flights with pycnogenol. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2004 Oct;10(4):373-7
  8. Belcaro, G., M. R. Cesarone, et al. (2005). “Venous ulcers: microcirculatory improvement and faster healing with local use of pycnogenol((r)).” Angiology 56(6): 699-705.
  9. Cesarone MR. Comparison of Pycnogenol and Daflon in treating chronic venous insufficiency: a prospective, controlled study. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost 2006; 12(2): 205-12.
  10. Canali R. The anti-inflammatory pharmacology of Pycnogenol® in humans involves COX-2 and 5-LOX mRNA expression in leukocytes. Inter Immunopharmacol 2009.
  11. Karnofsky DA, Burchenal JH. 1949. The clinical evaluation of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer. In Evaluation of chemotherapeutic agents, MacLeod CM (ed.). Columbia University Press: New York; 196.