I love it when the science evolves to make something good even better.
…And when I say better, I mean, better for the environment, cleaner label and so better for you, price competitive, and sustainably produced.
As I have been posting on the benefits of holiday trees this month, let’s focus in on one tree, that is also used as a Christmas Tree (Pinus pinaster), which happens to be the source of one of the most popular nutraceuticals: French Maritime Pine Bark Extract.
French Maritime Pine Bark Extract is loaded with oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) that have been studied in over 160 clinical trials with remarkable results for cardiovascular health, circulation, woman’s health, skin aging, cognition, joint support, healthy aging and more.
For decades, maritime pine bark extract has been the gold standard for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory support. Its bioactive compounds work through multiple pathways: scavenging free radicals, reducing inflammatory markers, strengthening blood vessel integrity, and reinforcing the extracellular matrix.
This is why clinical research shows benefits ranging from chronic venous insufficiency to photoaging, ADHD support to endothelial function.
But here’s the connection many miss: this wasn’t some lab-created compound. Traditional medicine healers have known about pine bark’s power for centuries; think of Jacques Cartier’s sailors using maritime pine bark to treat scurvy. Modern science simply validated what ancient wisdom already understood.
The Evolution Game-Changer
➡️ Now comes the exciting part. For years, commercial maritime pine bark extracts relied on ethyl acetate (an organic chemistry solvent) to maximize polyphenol extraction. While effective, this created a paradox: a “natural” medicine that relied on synthetic chemistry…
🌟 The News🌟 QWB is able to manufacture a pine bark extract (Nutreepin®; see: https://www.qwb.fr/ingredients/ ) through new water-based extraction technologies to achieve comparable bioactive profiles to traditional solvent-based methods, without any ethyl acetate residues. This means a clean-label version that’s truly aligned with the “natural” promise…using only water as the extraction medium while maintaining the clinical efficacy the science demands.
This is what innovation in functional medicine looks like: honoring traditional knowledge, validating it through rigorous science, and then evolving the extraction process itself.
The medicine from your Christmas tree just got cleaner. The science just got smarter. Hopefully many other natural medicines will follow the same path. That is something to wish for this season and in the New Year!
Christmas Tree Medicine: 🎄 ✨ Clean Label French Maritime Pine Bark Extract
