Grape seed extracts have compounds called procyanidolic
oligomers (PCOs). Other sources of PCOs are berries, green and black teas, and red wine.
PCOs are powerful antioxidants, perhaps much
greater than vitamins C and E. They also inhibit a number of enzymes that degrade
connective tissue such as elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase.
Grape Seed Extract supplement, 100 mg
Joint Power Rx with Grape Seed Extract

Grape
Seed Extract is a natural plant product made from the grape seed (or pip). Grape
Seed Extract is rich in procyanidins, a special class of water-soluble
bioflavonoids which are excellent free radical scavengers.
Grape Seed Extract
Supplement Facts
Grape Seed Extract - 100 mg *
Suggested Use: 1 to 2 grape seed extract tablets a few times a week, or as recommended by your health
care professional.
* Grape seed extract daily value not established.
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Supplement
Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract
of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics -
including grape seed extract - and
their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Joint Power Rx with Grape Seed Extract, Formulated by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Because joint
pain is so debilitating, Glucosamine and Chondroitin alone are not
enough. This powerful formula includes several additional herbal extracts
and nutrients that play a role in joint health.
Joint Power
Rx Supplement Facts:
Glucosamine sulfate (from shellfish),
Chondroitin sulfate,
MSM,
CMO complex,
Boswellia serrata extract,
Curcumin,
Cat's claw extract,
Devil's claw extract,
Grape seed extract, and
Sea Cucumber.
Click Grape Seed link above in blue
for more information
Benefit of Grape Seed
extract
The primary clinical indications for grape seed extract are the treatment of such vascular
disorders as venous insufficiency and capillary fragility and possibly retinal maladies
such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. PCOs may improve night
vision.
Additional health benefits
of Grape Seed extract
Moderately high amounts of grape seed extract may blunt salt-sensitive hypertension.
Grape seed extract may be helpful as an antioxidant in smokers.
According to one study, grape seed extract does not provide relief for
symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing and itchy, and watery eyes.
Grape Seed extract and
Hypertension
Cardiovascular researchers at UC Davis, School of Medicine, completed the
first human clinical trial to study the benefits of grape seed extract on
patients with high blood pressure. The one month study was done on 24 male and
female patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of
factors that add up to high risk for heart disease, including elevated blood
pressure, excess abdominal body weight, high blood cholesterol fats, and high
blood sugar. The patients were divided into three groups of eight. The first
group received a placebo while the second and third groups received 150 mgs and
300 mgs, respectively, of a grape seed extract developed and made by
Polyphenolics, a division of Constellation Wine US. All participants' blood
pressure was automatically measured and recorded for 12 hours after grape see
extract ingestion. Participants in the two groups receiving grape seed extract
experienced an average drop in systolic pressure or 12 mm and diastolic pressure
8 mm compared to placebo.
Dr. Sahelian says: This is encouraging news regarding
the role of grape seed extract and blood pressure. It would seen a good idea to
take 100 mg a day of grape seed extract with medical supervision and monitoring
of BP.
Skin cancer and grape skin
extract
Chemicals found in grape seeds may help ward of skin cancer due to regular
exposure to the sun. Researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham
exposed hairless mice to ultraviolet-light. Some of the mice they fed a standard
diet supplemented with grape seed proanthocyanidins, while control mice were fed
a standard diet without this supplement. Dietary supplementation with grape seed
extract inhibited light-induced carcinogenesis, study. Mice supplemented with
grape seed extract had up to 65 fewer skin cancer tumors than control mice did.
Moreover, the tumors seen in grape seed extract -supplemented mice were smaller
than those seen in the control mice. Grape seed extracts appear to inhibit
suppression of the immune system caused by ultraviolet light. Grape seed extract
has antioxidant activity, and UV-induced oxidative stress has been linked to the
induction of skin cancers.
Grape Seed extract availability
Grape Seed extract is sold in various
extract potencies, including 95 percent proanthocyanidins or 95 percent
polyphenols.
Grape seed extract side effects
Grape seed extract side effects have not been reported in the medical
literature, but very few human studies have been done. In one study with cancer
patients given radiation therapy and grape seed extract 100 mg three times a day
orally for 6 months, no major side effects were reported.
Grape Seed Research Update
Grape seed extract prevents H(2)O(2)-induced chromosomal damage in human
lymphoblastoid cells.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2004 Sep;27(9):1459-61.
We examined the effects of grape seed extract on chromosomal damage in two ways;
induction on its own and prevention against treatment of reactive oxygen species. The Grape seed
extract was composed of 89% proanthocyanidin with a degree of polymerization
ranging from 2 to 15. Grape seed extract did not induce chromosomal damage in
WIL2-NS cells. In contrast, pretreatment with
Grape seed extract dose-dependently prevented H(2)O(2)-induced chromosomal
damage. A similar preventive effect of
Grape seed extract was not detected in tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced damage
even at 5 mg/l. In a cell free system, Grape seed extract (<5 mg/l) directly
scavenged H(2)O(2), but produced slight amounts of H(2)O(2) at higher
concentrations (>50 mg/l). These results suggest that Grape seed extract is not
genotoxic, but rather has an antigenotoxic effect against H(2)O(2) via direct
scavenging action of H(2)O(2).
Oral intake of proanthocyanidin-rich extract from grape seeds improves
chloasma.
Phytother Res. 2004 Nov;18(11):895-9.
Chloasma (melasma), an
acquired hypermelanosis, is often recalcitrant to various treatments and an
amenable, as well as safe, pigment-reducing modality is needed. We investigated
that the reducing effect of proanthocyanidins on chloasma in a one-year open
design study. Proanthocyanidin-rich grape seed extract was orally administered
to 12 Japanese woman candidates with chloasma for 6 months between August 2001
and January 2002 and to 11 of these 12 for 5 months between March and July 2002.
Clinical observation, L* value (lightening) and melanin index, and size (length
and width) measurements of chloasma were performed throughout the study period.
The first 6 months of grape seed extract intake improved or slightly improved
chloasma in 10 of the 12 women and following 5 months of intake improved or
slightly improved chloasma in 6 of the 11 candidates. L* values also increased
after grape seed extract intake. Melanin-index significantly decreased after 6
months of the intake, and also decreased at the end of study. Grape seed extract
is effective in reducing the hyperpigmentation of women with chloasma. The
beneficial effects of grape seed extract was maximally achieved after 6 months
and these was no further improvement after this period. The latter grape seed
extract intake for 5 months may prevent chloasma from becoming worse prior to
the summer season. Grape seed extract is safe and useful for improving melasma.
Supplementation with grape seed polyphenols results in
increased urinary excretion of 3-hydroxyphenylpropionic Acid, an important
metabolite of proanthocyanidins in humans.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Aug 25;52(17):5545-9.
Grape seed extract provides a concentrated source of polyphenols, most of
which are proanthocyanidins. Polymeric proanthocyanidins are poorly absorbed in
the small intestine of humans, and exposure may result from metabolism to
phenolic acids by colonic bacteria. Any biological effects of proanthocyanidins
may be due to the phenolic acid metabolites. Several phenolic acids have been
identified as proanthocyanidin metabolites, but these may be derived from a
range of other dietary sources. The aim of this study was to determine if 24-h
urinary excretion of specific phenolic acids increased significantly and
consistently following regular supplementation with grape seed extract. In a
randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 69 volunteers received grape
seed extract (1000 mg/day total polyphenols) or placebo for 6 weeks.
Supplementation with grape seed polyphenols resulted in a consistent increase in
the excretion of 3-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (3-HPP, P < 0.001) and
4-O-methylgallic acid (P < 0.001) and a less consistent increase in the
excretion of 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (P = 0.002). The observed increase in
3-HPP is in line with the suggestion that this compound is a major phenolic acid
breakdown product of proanthocyanidin metabolism in vivo.
Neuroprotective effects of grape seed extract on
neuronal injury by inhibiting DNA damage in the gerbil hippocampus after
transient forebrain ischemia.
Life Sci. 2004 Sep 3;75(16):1989-2001.
Grape seed extract possess cardioprotective abilities by functioning as in vivo
antioxidants and by virtue of their ability to directly scavenge ROS including
hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals. In the present study, we investigated the
neuroprotective effects of grape seed extract in the gerbil hippocampus after 5
min transient forebrain ischemia. Neuronal cell density in grape seed
extract-treated ischemic animals was significantly increased as compared with
vehicle-treated ischemic animals 4 days after ischemic insult. In the grape seed
extract-treated groups, about 60% of pyramidal cells of the sham-operated group
were stained with cresyl violet 4 days after ischemic insult. In this study, we
found that grape seed extract had neuroprotective effects on neuronal injury by
inhibiting DNA damage in the CA1 region after ischemia. In vehicle-treated
groups, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) immunoreactivity was significantly
changed time-dependently, whereas the immunoreactivity in the grape seed
extract-treated group was similar to the sham-operated group. In addition, we
confirmed that astrocytes and microglia did not show significant activation in
the CA1 region 4 days after ischemia-reperfusion, because many CA1 pyramidal
cells were not damaged. Therefore, these results suggest that grape seed extract
can protect ischemic neuronal damage by inhibiting DNA damage after transient
forebrain ischemia.
Grape seed extract affects proliferation and
differentiation of human intestinal Caco-2 cells.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Jun 2;52(11):3301-8.
The effect of daily contact of a grape seed extract (GSE) on Caco-2 cell
proliferation and differentiation was investigated. Grape seed extract at 400
mg/L was added to Caco-2 cells for 2 h a day after successive incubation in
saliva, gastric, and pancreatic media. When applied at the beginning of the cell
culture, Grape seed extract triggered inhibition of cell growth associated with
a possible cytotoxic reaction. On the other hand, when the treatment was applied
to confluent cells, treated cells displayed a higher protein content than
control cells and a more developed brush border, with taller and denser
microvilli. These observations were accompanied by stimulation of alkaline
phosphatase activity, especially at day 5 postconfluency, with a 2.2-fold
increase in comparison with the control. On the other hand, aminopeptidase N
activity was inhibited throughout the differentiation period in Grape seed
extract-treated cells to reach 28.8% of control cell activity on day 30. Grape
seed extract did not affect either sucrase-isomaltase activity or cytoplasmic
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, which otherwise appeared to be a good
cellular marker. Grape seed extract treatment of Caco-2 cells thus inhibited
their proliferation from seeding onward and stimulated both proliferation and
differentiation after confluency.
The effect of grape-seed extract on 24 h energy intake
in humans.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;58(4):667-73.
OBJECTIVE: Since grape-seed extract has been shown to stimulate lipolysis in
vitro and reduce food intake in rats, we assessed the efficacy of grape-seed
extract with respect to energy intake (EI) and satiety. DESIGN: In a randomized,
placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over study, 51 subjects (age 18-65 y,
body mass index 22-30 kg/m2) ate an ad libitum lunch and dinner twice in the
University Restaurant for 3 days. Standard breakfasts and snacks were provided.
Supplements were taken 30-60 min prior to each meal. RESULTS: In the total study
population, no difference in 24 h EI was found between the grape-seed extract
and placebo. However, in the subgroup of subjects (n=23) with an energy
requirement > or =the median of 7.5 MJ/day, EI was reduced by 4% (DeltaEI 352.1
kJ/24 h, P=0.05) after grape-seed extract compared to placebo treatment.
Meanwhile, there were no significant differences in macronutrient composition,
attitude towards eating, satiety, mood or tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: Grape seed
reduced 24 h EI, with on average 4% in subjects who had an energy requirement >
or =7.5 MJ/day, without further effects on satiety, mood or tolerance. These
findings suggest that grape seed could be effective in reducing 24 h EI in
normal to overweight dietary unrestrained subjects, and could, therefore, play a
significant role in body-weight management.
Effect of a standardized grape seed extract on low-density lipoprotein
susceptibility to oxidation in heavy smokers.
Vigna GB. University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Metabolism. 2003 Oct;52(10):1250-7.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of a standardized formulation of
a polyphenolic extract of grapes (Leucoselect-Phytosome) on low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) susceptibility to oxidation in a group of heavy smokers. A
randomized, double-blind, crossover study was undertaken in 24 healthy male
heavy smokers, aged > or = 50 years. Enrolled subjects were given 2 capsules
twice daily for 4 weeks (phase 1). Each capsule contained 75 mg of a grape
procyanidin extracts and soy-phosphatidlcholine or placebo consisiting of 75 mg
lactose and soy-phosphatidlcholine. A wash out period of 3 weeks was then
followed by 4 weeks of the opposite treatment (phase 2). Blood samples were
taken at baseline and at the end of each phase and assayed for plasma lipids and
LDL susceptibility to oxidation. Compliance was good, and no adverse effects
were recorded. Subjects did not show significant modification of total
cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)
and LDL-C during LP treatment. Among oxidative indices, thiobarbituric acid
reactive substances (TBARS) concentration was significantly reduced in subjects
taking grape seed extract, and the lag phase
prolonged compared with placebo and
basal values. The antioxidant potential of grape seed extract polyphenols may
prove effective in a model of oxidative stress (smoking); however more
investigational data are needed before use in wider clinical settings.
Polyphenolics in grape seeds-biochemistry and
functionality.
J Med Food. 2003 Winter;6(4):291-9.
Grape seeds are waste products of the winery and grape juice industry. These
seeds contain lipid, protein, carbohydrates, and 5-8% polyphenols depending on
the variety. Polyphenols in grape seeds are mainly flavonoids, including gallic
acid, the monomeric flavan-3-ols catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin,
epigallocatechin, and epicatechin 3-O-gallate, and procyanidin dimers, trimers,
and more highly polymerized procyanidins. Grape seed extract is known as a
powerful antioxidant that protects the body from premature aging, disease, and
decay. Grape seeds contains mainly phenols such as proanthocyanidins (oligomeric
proanthocyanidins). Scientific studies have shown that the antioxidant power of
proanthocyanidins is 20 times greater than vitamin E and 50 times greater than
vitamin C. Extensive research suggests that grape seed extract is beneficial in
many areas of health because of its antioxidant effect to bond with collagen,
promoting youthful skin, cell health, elasticity, and flexibility. Other studies
have shown that proanthocyanidins help to protect the body from sun damage, to
improve vision, to improve flexibility in joints, arteries, and body tissues
such as the heart, and to improve blood circulation by strengthening
capillaries, arteries, and veins. The most abundant phenolic compounds isolated
from grape seed are catechins, epicatechin, procyanidin, and some dimers and
trimers.
Grape seed extract activates Th1 cells in vitro.
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2002 Mar;9(2):470-6
Although flavonoids manifest a diverse range of biological activities, including antitumor
and antiviral effects, the molecular mechanisms underlying these activities await
elucidation. We hypothesize that the flavonoid constituents of a proprietary
grape seed extract that contains procyandins exert significant antiviral and antitumor effects,
by inducing production of the Th1-derived cytokine gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) by
peripheral blood mononuclear cells) from healthy donors. Our results show that
grape seed extract
significantly induced the transcription of IFN-gamma mRNA as demonstrated by reverse
transcription-PCR but had no effect on the Th2-derived cytokine interleukin-6. The
enhancing effect of grape seed extract on IFN-gamma expression was further supported by a concomitant
increase in the number of cells with intracytoplasmic IFN-gamma as well as the synthesis
and secretion of IFN-gamma. Our results demonstrate that the potentially
beneficial immunostimulatory effects of grape seed extract may be mediated through the induction of
IFN-gamma.
Grape seed emails
Q. What can you tell me about Grape seed oil ?
A. We have not had a chance to evaluate the benefits of
grape seed oil.
Q. I am wondering if grape seed extract supplement should
be standardized to 95% polyphenols. I notice that many herbal products do not
seem to be standardized. Thanks for your time and your newsletter is right on.
A. Since there are no long term human studies with
grape seed extract, it is anybody's guess as to the ideal extract potency. Also,
there are few herbs that have been studied in an accepted standardized form.
Little is known as to whether a certain standardized extract is better than the
whole herb or a different extract potency. With all these uncertainties, no
definite guidelines can be given.
Q. Grapeseed extract !!!! My husband and I both have
tended to suffer from frequent morning migraines. We do not drink alcohol. One
Grapeseed extract before bedtime has cut these occurrences at least 90% or more.
It's been miraculous. I first discovered this unmistakable phenomenon and got my
husband on them and now we make sure we take it before bedtime. "Did you take
your Grapeseed extract? I started taking them because he read somewhere that it
helped promote better sleep, a problem more for me than him and it does that as
well. Like I said, the biggest unexpected boon is the migraine prevention. We
both had true migraines. All day and very debilitating and a ton of over the
counter pain killer sometimes just barely took the edge off (if lucky). Mine
were generally gone by evening, but I was losing a day at least 2 times a week.
His could go on into the next day. So we're healthier because now we are not
pouring Ibuprofen, aspirin and acetaminophen into our systems on a regular
basis. On the rare occasion that a migraine starts to happen, we have both found
that 1 advil (instead of the previous 4) plus 1 grapeseed banishes it.
Once in while, up to 3 or 4 grapseed extract pills works alone once a migraine
has grabbed hold but not usually. Then the 1 or 2 grapeseed and 1 advil works.
The best thing is prevention, so it is an indispensible herb for us both before
bed.
A. This is interesting. What brands were they, was it only grape
seed extract or combined with other herbs?
Q. Spring Valley and the CVS Brand are 2 we've
used recently. There are other ingredients in the last 2 or so bottles we've
purchased, but I have received the same effect from plain grapeseed extract
which was what I initially used.
So many brands now have other ingredients added that at first we wondered if it
would work the same. It does. Right at the moment the brand is: Spring Valley
Grapeseed plus Resveratol. Purchased at Walmart. Selenium - 15mcg, Grapeseed
Extract - seed and skin standardized to contain polyphenols - 50mg. Antioxidant
blend: Green tea, Citrus bioflavinoids, Bilberry - 130mg. I started with two at
night, but have found that if I take them regularly, just one before bed does
the trick.
Grape Skin Extract 20% Proanthocyanidins