Pycnogenol effects on skin elasticity and hydration coincide with increased gene expressions of collagen type I and hyaluronic acid synthase in women*

摘要

The present study tests the effect of the consumption of a registered and standardized pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, in the skin condition of 20 healthy postmenopausal women for 12 weeks. The skin condition was assayed before, during and after supplementation (i) by employing non-invasive, biophysical methods including corneometry, cutometry, visioscan and ultrasound analyses and (ii) by taking biopsies and subsequent PCR for gene expression analyses related to extracellular matrix homeostasis.