A new study published in Bratislava Medical Journalfound that Pycnogenol, an extract from French maritime pine bark, is able to improve erectile function, particularly in those with diabetes mellitus.

The three-month-long randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study involved 53 patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). 32 had diabetes mellitus (DM); ED, the study noted, may be considered an early complication of DM.

The study found that Pycnogenol improved erectile function in the DM group by 45%; in the group without DM, erectile function was improved 22%; in the placebo group, it wasn’t improved at all.
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Furthermore, the study notes, those in the DM group saw lowered total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and glucose levels; the non-DM group saw no change in glucose levels, and the placebo group showed no change on any of the monitored parameters.

The study concludes: “Pycnogenol seems to have a beneficial effect on treatment of ED especially in patients with DM. This needs to be verified by larger placebo-controlled studies and longer treatment endpoints.”