Effects of Oligomeric Procyanidins (OPCs) on Human Erythrocyte Filterability and Microcirculation

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Oligomeric procyanidins (OPCs) extracted from pine bark are effective for treating cases of impaired microcirculation because of their antioxidative, antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory activities. For 10 volunteers with mild life style-related diseases, we investigated the rheological effects of OPCs on erythrocyte filterability using a nickel mesh filtration technique and on skin microcirculation using laser Doppler flowmetry. The erythrocyte filterability before the intake of OPCs was lower (64.6±14.5%, P<0.01) than that for the normal controls (85.6±0.8%) and became 69.8±7.7% 1 week after starting intake, and was significantly improved 2 weeks after intake (77.3±5.6%, p<0.02). Correspondingly, laser Doppler flowmeter signals were significantly augmented 1 week (1515±138 mV, p<0.001) and 2 weeks (1570±128 mV, p<0.001) after administration compared with before administration (1335±126 mV). Furthermore, we found a good correlation (R=0.92) between the improvement of filterability and augmentation of the microcirculation. Thus, the present study shows that the combined studies involving the nickel mesh filtration technique and laser Doppler flowmetry are relevant for evaluating the rheological functions of nutritional foods from in vitro and in vivo standpoints.

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