Researchers at L’Aquila University in Italy conducted a comparative analysis by supplementing 86 patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) with Pycnogenol and Daflon, a combination of diosmin and hesperidin and a commonly prescribed drug used to treat CVI.
Each group supplemented daily for eight weeks. Patients supplemented with Pycnogenol received either 150mg or 300mg, while Daflon patients were supplemented with 1000mg.
After eight weeks of treatment, patients who supplemented with Pycnogenol experienced decreased ankle swellings by 35%, while Daflon treatment decreased ankle swelling by 19%. A composite score for edema including pain, restless legs, feeling of heavy swollen legs, and skin alterations was found to be decreased with Pycnogenol by 64%, whereas Daflon was only half as effective, lowering the composite edema score by 32%.
Pycnogenol treatment was also found to significantly increase tissue oxygen and lower CO2, suggesting a considerable improvement in blood circulation to the legs. Daflon, in contrast, did not yield any significant effect on the tissue oxygenation and apparently does not improve blood circulation to the legs.
“Pycnogenol has demonstrated its efficacy and safety in several clinical trials and symptoms of CVI have been reduced significantly by Pycnogenol in controlled studies,” said Dr Peter Rohdewald, researcher of the study. “We were pleased to see that not only did Pycnogenol decrease CVI symptoms, but the results were significantly more successful then the prescription drug used for treating CVI.”