Study: Pine bark extract may reduce ADHD

MUNSTER, Germany, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Pycnogenol, from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, may reduce attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, a study found.

The study, published in the journal Nutritional Neurosciene, shows Pycnogenol balances stress hormones, which lowers adrenaline and dopamine, resulting in a decrease of ADHD.

The study sampled 57 outpatients with ADHD with an average age of 9 years in Slovakia.

Forty-one patients received Pycnogenol and 16 received a placebo. Patients were not supplemented with any other drugs or with vitamins E or C during the study.

Participants in the Pycnogenol group received 1 milligram of Pycnogenol or placebo for every kilogram of body weight, daily, for one month, said study author Dr. Peter Rohdewald of the University of Munster, in Germany. Stress hormones were quantified from urine samples.

The researchers found Pycnogenol lowered stress hormones -- adrenaline by 26.2 percent, and dopamine by 10.8 percent.

"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," Rohdewald said.