Effects of low molecular weight procyanidin rich extract from french maritime pine bark on cardiovascular disease risk factors in stage-1 hypertensive subjects: Randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled intervention trial

Background: Oligopin (OP) is a quantified extract from French Maritime Pine bark (FMPB) with low molecular weight procyanidins. The cardioprotective effects of OP need to be tested in human clinical intervention trials with an appropriate design. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of subchronic consumption of OP on cardiovascular disease risk factors such as lipid profile, systolic blood pressure (BP) and oxidized-Low Density Lipoprotein (ox-LDL) in stage-1-hypertensive subjects. Methods: Between February 14 and May 31, 2014, eligible subjects were recruited from the outpatient clinics of Hospital Universitari Sant Joan (Reus, Spain). A total of 24 participants (mean age +/- DS; 57.36 +/- 11.25; 17 men) with stage-l-hypertension who were not receiving BP-lowering medication and LDL cholesterol < 4.88 mmol/l were randomized in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. The subjects received 2 capsules/day with 75 mg of OP or placebo for 5-weeks. Results: At 5-weeks, compared to the placebo, OP raised High Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) by 14.06% (p = 0.012) and apolipoprotein A-1 by 8.12% (p = 0.038) and reduced the ratio of apolipoprotein B-100/A-1 by 10.26% (p = 0.046). Moreover, at 5-weeks, compared to the baseline, OP reduced the systolic BP by 6.36 mmHg (p = 0.014), and decreased ox-LDL concentrations by 31.72 U/1 (p = 0.015). Conclusion: At 5-weeks, the consumption of 150 mg/day of OP improve lipid cardiovascular profile and represents one of the scarce ways to increase HDL-c in stage-1-hypertensive subjects. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02063477 (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier GmbH.