@article{JessbergerHoeggerGenestetal.2017,
  author    = {Jessberger, Steffen and H{\"o}gger, Petra and Genest, Franca and Salter, Donald M. and Seefried, Lothar},
  title     = {Cellular pharmacodynamic effects of Pycnogenol\(^{®}\) in patients with severe osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled pilot study},
  series = {BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine},
  volume    = {17},
  journal   = {BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine},
  number    = {537},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12906-017-2044-1},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-159532},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Background: The standardized maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol\(^{®}\)) has previously shown symptom alleviating effects in patients suffering from moderate forms of knee osteoarthritis (OA). The cellular mechanisms for this positive impact are so far unknown. The purpose of the present randomized pilot controlled study was to span the knowledge gap between the reported clinical effects of Pycnogenol\(^{®}\) and its in vivo mechanism of action in OA patients. Methods: Thirty three patients with severe OA scheduled for a knee arthroplasty either received 100 mg of Pycnogenol\(^{®}\) twice daily or no treatment (control group) three weeks before surgery. Cartilage, synovial fluid and serum samples were collected during surgical intervention. Relative gene expression of cartilage homeostasis markers were analyzed in the patients' chondrocytes. Inflammatory and cartilage metabolism mediators were investigated in serum and synovial fluid samples. Results: The oral intake of Pycnogenol\(^{®}\) downregulated the gene expression of various cartilage degradation markers in the patients' chondrocytes, the decrease of MMP3, MMP13 and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1B were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). Additionally, protein concentrations of ADAMTS-5 in serum were reduced significantly (p ≤ 0.05) after three weeks intake of the pine bark extract. Conclusions: This is the first report about positive cellular effects of a dietary supplement on key catabolic and inflammatory markers in patients with severe OA. The results provide a rational basis for understanding previously reported clinical effects of Pycnogenol\(^{®}\) on symptom scores of patients suffering from OA.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Jessberger2016,
  author    = {Jeßberger, Steffen},
  title     = {Zellul{\"a}re pharmakodynamische Effekte eines standardisierten Kiefernrindenextraktes (Pycnogenol) bei Patienten mit schwerer Osteoarthritis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-132634},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {In klinischen Studien wurden bereits positive Effekte des standardisierten Kiefernrindenextrakts Pycnogenol® auf die Symptome von Patienten mit milden Formen von Kniegelenks-Osteoarthritis ermittelt; haupts{\"a}chlich ausgedr{\"u}ckt durch Senkung des WOMAC-Scores. Der hinter dieser Symptomverbesserung zu Grunde liegende Mechanismus wurde jedoch noch nicht untersucht. Deshalb sollten in der vorliegenden Arbeit erstmalig die zellul{\"a}ren pharmakodynamischen Effekte des Nahrungserg{\"a}nzungsmittels, in Hinblick auf wichtige Marker der Knorpelhom{\"o}ostase, untersucht werden. Hierf{\"u}r wurden 30 Patienten mit schweren Gonarthrose-Formen und Indikation zum Kniegelenksersatz in eine randomisiert-kontrollierte Studie eingeschlossen. Die genaue Ursache der Erkrankung Osteoarthritis ist bis heute nicht gekl{\"a}rt, jedoch gilt ein Ungleichgewicht von Knorpelaufbau und -abbau in den betroffenen Gelenken als einer der zentralen Parameter der Pathogenese. Diese Imbalance resultiert in einem sukzessiven Knorpelverlust, der mit einem Entz{\"u}ndungsgeschehen im ganzen Gelenk, also auch unter Beteiligung von Synovium und subchondralen Knochen, einhergeht. Eine wichtige Rolle spielen hierbei die matrix-abbauenden Enzyme MMPs und ADAMTS sowie proinflammatorische Mediatoren, z.B. das IL-1β. Nach dreiw{\"o}chiger Einnahme von 200 mg Pycnogenol® am Tag, konnten wir, im Vergleich zur unbehandelten Kontrollgruppe, eine Senkung der relativen Genexpression von MMP-1, MMP-3 und MMP-13 im Knorpelgewebe feststellen. Bei MMP-3 und MMP 13 war diese Reduktion signifikant. Ebenso wurde die relative Expression von IL-1β statistisch signifikant gesenkt. Im Rahmen der Untersuchung der Entwicklung von Markerkonzentrationen im Serum im Verlauf der Studie wurde eine signifikante Senkung der ADAMTS-5-Konzentrationen bei behandelten Patienten, im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe, offenbar. Weiterhin wurden die MMP-13-Konzentrationen im Serum positiv durch Einnahme des Rindenextraktes beeinflusst. In der K{\"o}rperfl{\"u}ssigkeit, die dem Erkrankungsgeschehen am n{\"a}hesten kommt, der Synovialfl{\"u}ssigkeit, konnten ebenso hemmende Effekte auf knorpelabbauende Enzyme nach Einnahme von Pycnogenol® beobachtet werden. Hierbei sah man niedrigere Konzentrationen der Marker MMP-1 und MMP-13 sowie der Abbaumarker von Typ-II-Collagen und von Aggrecan in den Gelenkfl{\"u}ssigkeiten der Verum- im Vergleich zu denen der Kontrollgruppe. Im Rahmen von ex-vivo-Versuchen zeigten sich mit beiden Spezimen keine Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Studiengruppen. Die beobachteten Tendenzen konnten durch Korrelationsanalysen untermauert werden. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit liefern den ersten Ansatz zum Verst{\"a}ndnis der zellul{\"a}ren Mechanismen, die f{\"u}r die positiven Einfl{\"u}sse des standardisierten Kiefernrindenextraktes auf die Symptomatik der Gonarthrose verantwortlich sind. Weitere Studien mit einer gr{\"o}ßeren Studienpopulation und einer Anwendung von Pycnogenol® {\"u}ber einen l{\"a}ngeren Zeitraum sind n{\"o}tig, um diese zellul{\"a}ren Geschehnisse zu best{\"a}tigen und n{\"a}her zu untersuchen. Auf Grund des g{\"u}nstigen Nebenwirkungsprofils von Pycnogenol® ist eine Langzeittherapie zur Verz{\"o}gerung eines erstmaligen Kniegelenksersatzes durchaus denkbar. Dies h{\"a}tte den Vorteil, dass das betroffene Gelenk weniger oft ausgetauscht werden m{\"u}sste, was wegen der begrenzten Haltbarkeit in etwa alle 10 Jahre geschieht. Aus epidemiologischen Studien ist schon seit L{\"a}ngerem bekannt, dass eine hohe t{\"a}gliche Aufnahme von Polyphenolen {\"u}ber die Nahrung zu geringeren Inzidenzraten neurologischer Erkrankungen, wie z.B. Morbus Parkinson oder Morbus Alzheimer, f{\"u}hrt. Auch Pycnogenol® hat in-vivo schon positive Effekte auf diverse neurologische Erkrankungsgeschehen gezeigt. Um zu verstehen, welcher Inhaltsstoff bzw. welche Inhaltsstoffe und/oder Metabolite die Blut-Hirn-Schranke passieren und f{\"u}r diese Wirkungen verantwortlich sein k{\"o}nnten, wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit mit Hilfe eines cEND-in-vitro-Modells die Blut-Hirn-Schrankeng{\"a}ngigkeit ausgew{\"a}hlter Bestandteile des Extraktes und des Metaboliten M1 untersucht. Dabei zeigte keine der untersuchten Substanzen unter den gew{\"a}hlten Versuchsbedingungen einen quantifizierbaren {\"U}bertritt durch den Zellkultur-Monolayer. Auf Grund unserer Versuche ist jedoch eine Aufnahme des M1 und von (+)-Catechin in die Endothelzellen durchaus denkbar. Diese Aufnahme scheint f{\"u}r den M1, in erleichterter Form, durch den GLUT-1-Transporter zu verlaufen. Die positiven Effekte des Nahrungserg{\"a}nzungsmittels auf neurologische Erkrankungen scheinen nicht durch direkte Einwirkungen im Gehirn selbst verursacht zu werden. Eine stabilisierende Wirkung auf die BHS, die eine wichtige Barriere zum Schutz des Gehirns vor {\"a}ußeren Einfl{\"u}ssen ist, scheint daf{\"u}r eine plausiblere Erkl{\"a}rung zu sein. Weiterf{\"u}hrende in-vivo-Tierversuche k{\"o}nnen dar{\"u}ber Aufschluss geben. Zusammenfassend konnte mit der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Beitrag zur Aufkl{\"a}rung der zellul{\"a}ren Effekte des standardisierten Kiefernrindenextraktes bei schwerer Kniegelenks-Osteoarthritis geleistet werden. Zus{\"a}tzlich konnten wir, mit Hilfe eines rationalen Ansatzes zur Ermittlung der Blut-Hirn-Schrankeng{\"a}ngigkeit ausgew{\"a}hlter Inhaltsstoffe von Pycnogenol®, das Verst{\"a}ndnis f{\"u}r die positiven Wirkungen von Pycnogenol® im Rahmen neurologischer Erkrankungen erweitern.},
  subject      = {Pycnogenol},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Muelek2015,
  author    = {M{\"u}lek, Melanie},
  title     = {Distribution and metabolism of constituents and metabolites of a standardized maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol®) in human serum, blood cells and synovial fluid of patients with severe osteoarthritis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-128085},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Dietary polyphenols have been related to beneficial effects on humans' health. Pycnogenol®, a dietary polyphenol-rich food supplement complies with the monograph "Maritime pine extract" in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and has demonstrated effects in different diseases. Several human trials concerning knee osteoarthritis have shown significant improvement of the symptoms like reducing the pain and the stiffness of the joint(s) upon intake of Pycnogenol®. After oral intake of multiple doses of Pycnogenol® previously low concentrations in the nanomolar range of monomeric extract constituents have been found in human plasma as well as a bioactive metabolite, δ-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-γ-valerolactone (M1), which is formed by the human intestinal flora from the procyanidins' catechin units. It is not clear yet which compound(s) of the complex extract is (are) mainly responsible for the described clinical effects of Pycnogenol®. To gain deeper insights into the in vivo fate of the pine bark extract the distribution of its constitutents and metabolites was closer investigated in the present thesis. Initial in vitro experiments suggested a facilitated cellular uptake of M1 into human erythrocytes, possibly via GLUT-1 transporter. For elucidating further the in vitro and in vivo metabolism of M1 in human blood cells, a metabolomic approach was performed using UPLC-ESI-qTOF-MSE analysis, which revealed a comprehensive and rapid metabolism of M1 to a variety of biotransformation products in human blood cells. Predominant metabolites were found to be conjugates of glutathione (GSH) isomers, namely M1-S-GSH and M1-N-GSH. Further sulfur-containing biotransformation products of M1 were conjugates with oxidized glutathione (M1-GSSG) and cysteine (M1-CYS) and the sulfated derivative of M1 (M1-sulfated). Other in vitro biotransformation products constituted the open-chained ester form of M1 (M1-COOH), hydroxybenzoic acid and the methylated (M1-methylated), acetylated (M1-acetylated), hydroxylated (M1-hydroxylated) and ethylated (M1-ethylated) derivatives of M1. Indeed, six of these in vitro metabolites, respectively M1-COOH, M1-sulfated, hydroxybenzoic acid, M1-S-GSH, M1-methylated and M1-acetylated, were also identified in vivo in blood cells of human volunteers after ingestion of Pycnogenol®. Related reference material was synthesized for reliable confirmation of the metabolites M1-GSH, M1-GSSG, M1-CYS and M1-COOH. In the course of a randomized controlled clinical trial patients suffering from severe osteoarthritis ingested multiple doses of 200 mg/day Pycnogenol® for three weeks before they were scheduled for an elective knee replacement surgery. Various biological specimen, respectively blood cells, synovial fluid and serum samples, were to be analyzed to investigate the distribution and disposition of possibly bioactive constituents and metabolites. Therefore, highly sensitive methods were developed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)- technology because of the expected low concentrations of the analytes in the related matrices. Initially, for each matrix different sample preparation techniques (protein precipitation, liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction and useful combinations thereof) were compared to achieve maximum detection sensitivity of the analytes that were of highest interest, namely M1, ferulic acid and taxifolin. By comparing 32 various sample clean-up procedures in human serum, the highest recovery of the metabolite M1 was achieved using a liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate and tert-butyl methyl ether at a serum pH-value of 3.2. A similar extraction method was also chosen for analyte detection in human synovial fluid after comparing 31 different sample preparation techniques. Whole blood or blood cells are difficult to handle because of their high viscosity and strong coloration. The QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) approach which was originally developed for the food safety and thus for the determination of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables yielded the highest total recovery rate of M1 in human blood cells when assessing 18 different sample clean-up techniques. By applying the QuEChERS method for the first time for the simultaneous and highly sensitive quantification of selected polyphenols in human blood cells it was demonstrated that this fast and inexpensive technique can be applied in clinical fields for cleaning-up highly complex and thus challenging biological matrices. All developed methods for the different biological specimen were optimized to achieve maximum sensitivity of the target analytes. The determined lower limits of quantification (LLOQs) were sufficient for the quantification of the study samples. The LLOQs ranged from 113 pg/mL for taxifolin to 48 ng/mL for caffeic acid in blood cells and from 80 pg/mL for taxifolin to 3 ng/mL for caffeic acid in synovial fluid. In human serum the LLOQs even ranged down to 35 pg/mL for taxifolin and up to 8 ng/mL for caffeic acid. All analytical methods were subjected to a full validation according to current EMA and FDA guidelines and fulfilled those criteria, showing excellent performance and reliability of the developed and optimized methods. Serum, blood cells and synovial fluid samples of the osteoarthritis patients were all processed with an enzymatic incubation with ß-glucuronidase/sulfatase to hydrolyse conjugates (phase-II-metabolism) prior the actual sample preparation. Additionally, serum samples of the osteoarthritis patients were prepared without enzymatic hydrolysis to determine the individual degree of conjugation with sulfate and glucuronic acid of the analytes. All determined concentrations in the patients' samples were in the lower ng/mL range. Notably, highest total concentrations of the polyphenols were not detected in serum, in which the degree of analyte conjugation with sulfate and glucuronic acid ranged from 54.29 ± 26.77\% for catechin to 98.34 ± 4.40\% for M1. The flavonoids catechin and taxifolin mainly partitioned into blood cells, whereas the metabolite M1, ferulic and caffeic acid primarily resided in the synovial fluid. The concentration of M1 in the blood cells was low, however, this could be explained by the previously observed extensive and rapid intracellular metabolism in vitro. This was now supported by the in vivo evidence in samples of patients who received Pycnogenol® in which the open-chained ester form of M1 (M1-COOH) as well as the glutathione conjugate of M1 (M1-GSH) were identified, indicating that M1 does not accumulate in its original form in vivo. Possibly, a variety of bioactive metabolites exist which might play an important role for the clinical effects of Pycnogenol®. Although the study participants were requested to avoid polyphenol-rich food and beverages within the last two days before the blood samplings this was obviously difficult for most of the patients. Hence, no statistically significantly difference was observed in the mean polyphenol concentrations in serum, blood cells and synovial fluid between the intervention and the control group. Nevertheless, it was possible to identify marker compounds for Pycnogenol® intake under real life conditions with occasional or regular consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and beverages. Thereby, ferulic acid was found in serum samples exclusively after intake of Pycnogenol®, confirming that ferulic acid is a suitable marker of consumption of French maritime pine bark extract. Taxifolin was present in serum and synovial fluid exclusively in the intervention group indicating a role as further marker of Pycnogenol® intake. Taxifolin, ferulic acid and caffeic acid were detected in both serum and synovial fluid only in the intervention group. Moreover, the metabolite M1, taxifolin and ferulic acid were only detected simultaneously in all matrices (serum, blood cells and synovial fluid) after ingestion of Pycnogenol®. Thus, deeper insights into the distribution of bioactive constituents and metabolites of Pycnogenol® into serum, blood cells and synovial fluid after oral administration to patients with severe osteoarthritis were gained. The present study provides the first evidence that polyphenols indeed distribute into the synovial fluid of patients with osteoarthritis where they might contribute to clinical effects.},
  subject      = {Pycnogenol},
  language  = {en}
}