Pine Bark Extract as Antioxidant Therapy for Migraine

In a recent review out of Pakistan of the biological, nutraceutical, and clinical properties of French maritime pine bark extract, this extract was found to be an effective treatment of migraine headaches. In this study, twelve patients with migraines that were resistant to conventional treatment such as antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and beta-blockers were given an antioxidant treatment for a period of three months. The treatment formulation consisted of 120 mg pine bark extract, 60 mg vitamin C, and 30 IU vitamin E per capsule. A baseline patient condition was established before beginning the treatment using a migraine disability assessment questionnaire and at the end of the treatment period the same questionnaire was given to assess any improvement. The mean headache severity, on a scale from 1 to 10, decreased from 7.5 to 5.5 and the number of days with headaches decreased from 44 to 26 days. These statistically significant results indicate that French maritime pine bark extract could potentially be useful as a component of antioxidant therapy to treat migraines. What remains to be answered is the mechanism by which the extract alleviates headache symptoms.