Pycnogenol might improve some aspects of cardiometabolic health, but research has generally been mixed.
Pycnogenol may increase glycemic control by reducing fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).[1] This is thought to occur primarily in the intestines by reducing the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates.[2] Interestingly, pycnogenol may also improve the healing of diabetic ulcers.[3]
Some research suggests that pycnogenol has a blood pressure lowering effect;[4] however, when trials with a high risk of bias are excluded, this effect is generally lost.[5][6] Interestingly, two trials observed that taking pycnogenol along with other blood pressure-lowering medications (ramipril or nifedipine) allowed for lower overall doses of the antihypertensive medications after 12 weeks.[7][8]
The effects of pycnogenol on lipid parameters are similarly mixed. Some research suggests that pycnogenol may increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol but likely does not affect other lipid parameters (e.g., low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, or triglycerides.)[9]