Study: Pine Bark Extract Helps ADHD in Children by Lowering Stress

More children are being diagnosed with ADHD each year, and researchers are increasingly looking for ways to treat its symptoms without the use of stimulants. One study shows a promising source from the bark of the French maritime pine tree. Researchers say results show that the extract may provide a way to treat the symptoms' of ADHD children naturally. The plant extract, Pycnogenol, works by balancing stress hormones, resulting in lower levels of adrenaline and dopamine, a neurostimulant.

The research was conducted by after a 2006 study published in European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry journal showed similar results. Results showed improved concentration, attention, and motor-visual concentration in the children studied. In the newer study, urine and blood samples of the children were reviewed to give the measurable results.

Children with an average age of 9 1/2 years were given either a placebo or Pycnogenol each morning for one month. Parents and teachers were asked to give an assessment of ADHD symptoms at the end of the month and one month later. Out of 57 children, the 41 children taking Pycnogenol showed a "significant" decrease in ADHD symptoms compared to the placebo group of 16, and their own level of symptoms at the beginning of the month. One month after the study ended, the children taking the pine tree plant extract had ADHD symptoms return to the level prior to beginning the study.

The pine tree extract lowered adrenaline, a stress hormone, by 26.2 percent and dopamine by 10.8 percent. Both groups of children were tested for hormone levels before and after the study, as well as one month later. At that time the level of stress hormones had increased, which strongly suggests that the effect of pine tree extract on stress is what caused the improvement in attention and concentration.

"The findings acknowledge that children with ADHD have dramatically elevated levels of stress hormones known to increase heart rate and blood pressure, causing excitement, arousal and irritability, as compared to children without ADHD symptoms," said Dr. Rohdewald, of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Munster in Germany. Rohdewald is also one of the authors of the study. "The findings of this study demonstrate a significant stress hormone lowering effect for a nutritional supplement for the first time."

"Pycnogenol's ability to naturally treat symptoms of ADHD is what makes this extract exceptionally pleasing to parents who may be uneasy about medicating their children with stimulant medications," said Rohdewald.

While pine tree extract from the French maritime pine has been widely researched and used for 35 years, the only distributor in North America is Natural Health Science (NHS) in New Jersey. It is thought that the tree's unique habitat contributes to high amounts of antioxidants. Similar species of pine may also provide benefits but have not been as extensively studied. Pycnogenol is a registered trademark of Horphag Research Ltd. and is patented in the U.S. and internationally.

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Natural Health Science, New Study: Pine Bark Extract Reduces ADHD in Children, PR Newswire