Maritime Pine Extract Pycnogenol 100mg TrainedByJP

What is TrainedByJP Pycnogenol 100 mg?

TrainedByJP Pycnogenol 100 mg is a maritime pine bark extract in capsule form. One capsule supplies 100 mg of Pycnogenol®, a patented extract, alongside just two excipients: microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate. The dose is one capsule a day, taken with a meal.

Pycnogenol® is extracted from the bark of the French maritime pine, Pinus pinaster, which grows in the Landes region among other places. This is not a generic plant extract: it is a patented, standardised raw material produced under a registered process, which makes it one of the most studied plant extracts on the supplement market.

Its richness comes down to a family of molecules, the oligomeric proanthocyanidins, often shortened to OPCs. These are polyphenols also found in grape seed and in the skins of red berries, but here they are concentrated and standardised. The rest of the British range can be browsed in our TrainedByJP section, and the other antioxidants in our catalogue in the coenzyme Q10 section.

What does a Pycnogenol capsule contain?

100 mg per capsule is a straightforward dose for this extract, and it matches what is used in most of the published work on this raw material, which most often sits between 50 and 200 mg a day. You are in the middle of the range, with a single, simple daily intake.

The formula is short, and that is an argument in itself: the active, a bulking agent, an anti-caking agent. Nothing else. In a category dominated by twelve-ingredient complexes, a three-line list lets you know exactly what you are swallowing and rule out any overlap with your other supplements.

On the regulatory side we need to be perfectly clear, because this is one of those products about which you can read absolutely anything: no health claim is authorised in Europe for Pycnogenol® or for maritime pine bark extract. None on circulation, none on joints, none on skin, none on cognitive function, none on sports recovery. The dossiers submitted did not go through. So what we are describing is a patented plant extract, its dose and how to use it — nothing more, and you should be wary of any seller who goes further.

What we can honestly say is that this is a standardised extract, produced under a registered process, which guarantees a consistent composition from one batch to the next. In a plant-extract category where standardisation is often vague or absent, that is a genuine reference point, and it is what explains the price.

Missing from the manufacturer's documentation: the number of capsules per bottle is not disclosed, which makes it impossible to work out how long a course will last. We are not going to estimate it; the information is on the packaging you receive.

Ingredients list

Pycnogenol® (maritime pine bark extract), microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate. No animal gelatine, no artificial colouring, no preservative. Suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets.

Made in a facility that handles CELERY, CRUSTACEANS, FISH, MILK, MUSTARD, PEANUTS, SOYA, GLUTEN, EGG, LUPIN, MOLLUSCS, TREE NUTS, SESAME and SULPHUR DIOXIDE. The manufacturer specifies that the absence of gluten is not certified, although no gluten goes into the raw materials.

How should you take Pycnogenol?

Dose: 1 capsule. Liquid: a large glass of water. Timing: during a meal. Frequency: one intake a day. Duration: 8 to 12 weeks minimum according to the manufacturer, taken continuously every day.

Taking it with a meal improves the absorption of polyphenols, particularly when fats are present, and that is the manufacturer's instruction. A normal meal containing a drizzle of oil, a few almonds or a little cheese is more than enough. It is not a heavy constraint, and it costs nothing.

The time of day does not matter: lunch or dinner work equally well. What counts is consistency, and taking the capsule with the same meal every day is the simplest way not to forget it.

Duration is the decisive parameter with this extract. The manufacturer specifies 8 to 12 weeks minimum, and is right to say so: polyphenols produce nothing in three days, and a two-week course gives you strictly no basis for forming an opinion. Plan your purchase accordingly, bearing in mind that the number of capsules per bottle is not disclosed.

One point worth knowing: the manufacturer advises spacing it apart from any vitamin C. The two are taken separately rather than at the same time. In practice, vitamin C in the morning and Pycnogenol at lunch settles the matter. Taking them separately is enough to follow this instruction. This extract combines without any overlap with an omega 3 or a turmeric, taken with the same fat-containing meal.

Who is Pycnogenol for, and who is it not for?

It is aimed at an adult who is specifically looking for this patented extract, usually because they have heard about it or because a healthcare professional suggested it. This is not an entry-level product or an impulse buy: it is an expensive extract, with a precise dose and a short formula, meant for someone who knows what they are buying.

It is not advised for people on anticoagulant treatment without medical advice. The manufacturer flags this explicitly because of a possible interaction, and the same warning comes up on most polyphenol-rich extracts. If this applies to you, the question is one for your doctor before you buy.

It is for adults only, and not advised for pregnant or breastfeeding women without the advice of a healthcare professional. The facility statement is unusually broad — fourteen allergens — and should be read carefully by anyone with an allergy. The manufacturer also states that neither gluten-free status nor halal status is certified.

What you should not expect from it, and this is what nobody writes in this category. You will feel nothing when you take it. This product cures nothing, treats nothing and holds no health claim in Europe. It does not improve sports performance, does not build muscle and does not burn fat. Nor does it replace a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, which naturally supplies polyphenols in abundance and for far less money.

Pycnogenol or another antioxidant?

The antioxidant category is a broad one and the products in it are not in the same price bracket.

Pycnogenol® is a patented, standardised extract, and that is what explains its cost. You are paying for consistency of composition from batch to batch and for the documentation that comes with the raw material. That is a legitimate argument for anyone who wants to know precisely what they are taking, but it is not an efficacy argument — no claim supports one.

Against it, vitamin C and vitamin E have a decisive regulatory advantage: each holds an authorised claim on the protection of cells from oxidative stress. For the same budget, they offer something this extract cannot: a framework.

When does Pycnogenol remain the right choice? When this precise raw material is what you are after, for reasons of your own, and when standardisation matters to you. If your goal is more general, our NAC section or our multivitamins section answer other needs, often for less.

Frequently asked questions

How much Pycnogenol is there per capsule?

100 mg of patented maritime pine bark extract. That is a dose sitting in the middle of the range used in the published work on this raw material, which most often runs from 50 to 200 mg a day. A single capsule a day is therefore enough.

Does Pycnogenol have proven effects?

No health claim is authorised in Europe for this extract, none on circulation, none on joints, none on skin, none on cognitive function. We sell a patented, standardised raw material without attributing any effect to it. Be wary of any site promising otherwise.

Where does this extract come from?

From the bark of the maritime pine, Pinus pinaster, a species that grows in the Landes region among other places. Pycnogenol® is a patented raw material, produced under a registered process, which guarantees a consistent composition from one batch to the next — a rare reference point in the plant-extract category.

Should it be taken with a meal?

Yes, the manufacturer recommends it: polyphenols are better absorbed when fats are present. A drizzle of oil, a few almonds or a little cheese in the same meal is enough. The time of day, on the other hand, does not matter.

Can it be combined with vitamin C?

The manufacturer advises separating the two intakes rather than taking them at the same time. In practice, vitamin C in the morning and Pycnogenol at lunch settles the matter with no particular effort.

Can it be taken alongside anticoagulants?

Not without medical advice. The manufacturer flags a possible interaction, as with most polyphenol-rich extracts. If you are on anticoagulant treatment, speak to your doctor before buying rather than after.

How many capsules are there per bottle?

The manufacturer does not disclose it, and we are not going to invent it. It is a missing piece of information, all the more so as it determines how you work out an 8 to 12 week course. It appears on the packaging of the product you will receive.

Where can you buy TrainedByJP Pycnogenol?

The bottle can be ordered from this page, and we ship throughout France and Europe. At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is a product we never push: the customers who ask for it generally know why they want it, and those who are discovering the name usually leave with a vitamin C, which costs ten times less and does have a regulatory framework behind it. The rest of the category can be browsed in our sports nutrition selection.