Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. While the etiology of psoriasis is not yet clear, environme­ntal factors such as food or eating habits are considered important aspects. Pine bark extract (FlavangenolⓇ) is a polyphenol-rich antioxidant functional food material. Pine bark extract is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect, to protect and improve skin and blood vessels, and to improve hypercholesterolemia, and a high dose of pine bark extract improves psoriasis. In this study, we conducted a pilot clinical trial to evaluate the effect of pine bark extract on the skin condition and serum lipid levels of patients with psoriasis. Patients with mild to moderate psoriasis who are receiving continual treatment at the Department of Dermatology, Fukuoka University Hospital and who gave informed consent were enrolled in this study. Subjects received 80 mg/day of pine bark extract for 3 months. As a result, the Psoriasis Area Severity Index significantly decreased from 8.0±10.3 to 5.8±7.4 (p<0.01). Total serum cholesterol level decreased to 208.1±29.6 from 216.8±24.2 (p<0.05; as an observed analysis). Pine bark extract may improve the skin condition and serum total cholesterol level of psoriasis patients. The limitation of this study is a small sample size and open testing.

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