PINE BARK EXTRACT REDUCES ADHD SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN.

A recent study found that Pycnogenol, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, helped reduce hyperactivity and improve attention, concentration and motor-visual coordination in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study, conducted at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Germany’s University of Munster, sampled 61 out-patients with ADHD with an average age of 9 ½ years. After one month of Pycnogenol or placebo treatment, the participants’ teachers compared the Child Attention Problems (CAP) and Connor’s Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) results with those scores prior to treatment. With the Pycnogenol group, there was a significant drop in hyperactivity and inattention compared to the start of the study. The researchers also found that one month after termination of treatment, symptoms returned to their levels as measured before the study started in the Pycnogenol group, strongly suggesting the antioxidant’s effect on reducing ADHD symptoms. (NPI Center, 06/16/06)