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Men's Products:

Damiana
Deer Velvet
Ginseng, Korean
Grass Pollen Extract
Human Growth Hormone
Horny Goat Weed
Muira Puama
Nopal
Prickly Pear Cactus
Maca
Pycnogenol
Saw Palmetto
Tribulus terrestris
Viagra
Yohimbe

Pine Bark Extract; Pycnogenol; OPCs (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins)  Procyanidolic Oligomers (PCOs); Grape Seed Extract

Principal Proposed Uses: Traveller's Thrombosis (DVTs after Long Plane Travel); Varicose Veins; Weight Loss, Cancer Prevention; Diabetes; Hemorrhoids; Male Sexual Dysfunction; Periodontal Disease; PMS

Pine Bark Extract is recommended by The Hardness Factor to be used in conjunction with L-Arginine to improve erection quality.

One of the bestselling herbal products of the early 1990s was an extract of the bark of French maritime pine. This substance consists of a family of chemicals known scientifically as oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes (OPCs) or procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs). Similar substances are also found in grape seed.

OPCs are marketed for a wide variety of uses. As yet, however, there is no solid evidence that they are effective for any medical condition.

Sources
OPCs aren't a single chemical, but a group of closely related compounds. Several food sources contain similar chemicals: red wine, cranberries, blueberries, bilberries, tea (green and black), black currant, onions, legumes, parsley, and the herb hawthorn.

However, most OPC supplements are made from either grape seed or the bark of the maritime pine. These two OPC sources lead to products that are not necessarily identical in function, although there do seem to be many similarities. In the discussion of scientific studies below, we indicate the source of the OPCs used when it is possible to do so.

Therapeutic Dosages
For the treatment of specific medical conditions, studies have used doses of 150 to 300 mg daily. For use as a general antioxidant, 50 mg of OPCs daily are often recommended; however, there is no evidence that this dose provides any health benefits.

Therapeutic Uses
The best-documented use of OPCs is to treat chronic venous insufficiency, a condition closely related to varicose veins. In both of these conditions, blood pools in the legs, causing aching, pain, heaviness, swelling, fatigue, and unsightly visible veins. Fairly good preliminary evidence suggests that OPCs from pine bark or grape seed can relieve the leg pain and swelling of chronic venous insufficiency. However, no studies have evaluated whether regular use of OPCs can make visible varicose veins disappear, or prevent new ones from developing.

Other small double-blind trials suggest that OPCs may help reduce swelling caused by injuries or surgery.

Evidence from one small double-blind trial suggests that OPCs from bilberry and grape seed may reduce the general fluid retention and swelling that can occur in PMS. One large study found some evidence that use of OPCs from pine bark might help prevent the leg blood clots that can develop on a long airplane flight.

Two preliminary studies found evidence that OPCs from pine bark, alone or with arginine, may be helpful for male sexual dysfunction (impotence).

In a double-bind, placebo-controlled study of 61 children with ADHD, use of OPCs from pine bark (at a dose of one gram per kg per day) appeared to improve some measurements of disease severity.

Safety Issues
Side effects are rare, but when they do occur they are limited to occasional allergic reactions and mild digestive distress.

However, one study unexpectedly found that a combination of OPCs and vitamin C might slightly increase blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Neither treatment alone had this effect. These results may have been a statistical fluke, but nonetheless people with hypertension should use the combination of vitamin C and OPCs only with caution.

OPCs may have some anticoagulant properties when taken in high doses, and therefore should be used only under medical supervision by individuals on blood-thinner drugs, such as Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, Plavix (clopidogrel), Ticlid (ticlopidine), Trental (pentoxifylline), or aspirin.

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Aside from the fact that you'd probably call me crazy, I have to tell you that we have never been as close as we are today to actually being able to extend human life!

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