5 replies to this topic

[fighter]

Hi, I have this Pine Bark Extract which says manufactured 7/2008 with a labeled shelf life of "3 years". Any opinion on this one? Thank you very much for your input.

EDIT: BTW, the powder is in a ziploc bag with 2 moisture absorbing packets inside stored in the fridge.

Edited by fighter, 16 October 2012 - 02:40 AM.

[nameless]

Eh, I wouldn't feel great about consuming generic pine bark extract in a zip lock bag, expired or not. I'd say just buy some new pycnogenol, if you want to take it.

[niner]

Pycnogenol is kind of insanely expensive. Lately I've been using generic pine bark extract (capped) from Swanson. It's way more affordable, and seems to be getting the job done.

[sthira]

I'm curious, niner, what job does it seem to be getting done?

[niner]

I'm curious, niner, what job does it seem to be getting done?

I had some mild varicosities on my lower legs, and pycnogenol 200mg/d really took care of them. Later I tried cutting the dose to 100 mg/d strictly as a cost-cutting move, and they got a little worse. Now I'm using 150 of the generic stuff, and my legs look pretty good.

[nameless]

Where is the generic Swanson sourced from? Is it even the same species of tree? A lot of generic pine bark comes from trees in China, and not even the same trees used in pycnogenol.

But I agree, pycnogenol is insanely expensive. I'm not sure I'd feel great about a generic type of pine bark though, unless I knew where it was sourced from. Grape seed may have the same benefit regarding vein issues (at least in theory), although it may require a larger dose.