Pine bark extract (Pycnogenol-type)

Maritime pine bark extract is produced from the bark of Pinus pinaster Aiton, the French maritime pine, extracted with water and water-ethanol. The reference grade is standardised to 65.0-75.0% procyanidins, the compositional band set out in the USP Maritime Pine Extract monograph, and a 95% proanthocyanidins (UV) grade is offered where an existing buyer specification calls for it. Beyond the procyanidin oligomers, which are built from catechin and epicatechin units, the extract carries taxifolin, monomeric catechin and phenolic acids including ferulic and caffeic acid. For reference, the bark itself assays only around 8-12% procyanidins, which is why drug-to-extract ratio and bark quality drive the economics of this material. Read the product name carefully. Pycnogenol is a registered trademark of Horphag Research for one specific French maritime pine bark extract, standardised to 70 plus or minus 5% procyanidins, with its own supply chain from the Landes de Gascogne forest and its own clinical dossier. Thovek supplies a generic extract built to the same public USP compositional profile. 'Pycnogenol-type' describes the specification only: the material must not be labelled, invoiced or marketed as Pycnogenol, and the branded extract's published studies must not be cited for it. Buyers who need the trademark should buy the trademarked material. Species transparency is the second thing to check with any pine bark extract, because a large share of world trade is made from Pinus massoniana Lamb. (Chinese red pine) rather than P. pinaster and is sold under the same generic name. The botanical species and the country of bark origin are declared on every CoA and one is never substituted for the other without written approval; a P. massoniana grade is quoted separately where cost drives the specification. The extract is vegan, and free from milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, peanut, tree nut and gluten - pine bark is unrelated to the edible pine nut and is not a tree-nut allergen source.