Pine trees: old wive's tale or modern medicine?
- Benjamin Failor
- Sep 10, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 19, 2018
Pine Trees: Old Wive’s Tale or Modern Medicine?
by Benjamin Failor
Pine trees are not what we think of when considering what to do for a common cold, or a flu. Nor do they cross our mind when considering boosting our general health. And certainly not for preventing cancer. Most of the people telling you to take this medicine or that have not considered the benefits of a plant used chiefly for landscaping, lumber, and windblock. Little do they know, that pines have been researched extensively for their antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and other benefits to health.
In this overview of previous research done pertaining to pines and, to some extent, other conifers, I will discuss the scientific benefits to the consumption of pines, with in-line citations and some attempt at conveying this information in English understandable to those not familiar with the jargon.
Pines are a widely varied species, and as such, the health benefits to pines are varied as well. Some present higher levels of certain nutrients, and lower levels of other nutrients.
I will mainly be discussing species’ of pines which grow naturally or naturalized in North America, especially the east coast/mid-Atlantic region of the United States, which is my region. However, due to the focus of researchers on certain pines not widely available, even online, in this area, I will be referencing species’ from other continents as well.
The division of the article will be by genus, and, if applicable, species.
As a final note, some of the trees we think of broadly as “pines” are actually junipers, spruces, firs, and hemlock. This article will feature these others, in a later part of the series.
Pines
Pines offer health benefits ranging from stopping cancer [1] to inflammation [2.] The harvesting of pine needles does not prohibit the use of the trees in lumber or pulpwood, and is in fact a waste product of the respective industries.
Pinus virginiana
Some pines, especially of P. Virginiana, are often considered scrubby and unattractive, somewhere between a minor disturbance and a major weed. Their wood is not worth much, at least in mixed woodlands as compared to pine plantations, and its curved shape at maturity adds to its low value in that respect. It is a pioneer species which loves poor soil. But the very facts of this make it all the better for its use as a nutritional substance, its needles, -though insufficient research has been done- probably containing the same or similar amount of vitamin C, proanthocyanidins, etc. as other, more researched species’.
Pinus strobus
White pine, eastern white pine, or pinus strobus, is the tallest pine this side of the Mississippi. Naval boats once used this wood etensively, from the old-growth white pines which once were towering. Even a riot occured over these trees, called the Pine Tree Riot [3.] This pine contains varying levels of carbohydrates depending on the season and weather, sometimes as high as five percent [4.] The antioxidant content of P. strobus bark has been researched, but mainly in a manner I am not fond of [14.] Still, a small part of the research focuses on traditional, easily done at home, water-extract of P. strobus that shows that it does, like other pines, contain antioxidants.
Pinus densiflora
There’s a lot to say about this species of pine, thanks to the research conducted about it. Researched from 2011 concluded that “pine needle proanthocyanidins and catechins might be of interest for use as alternative antioxidants” (Park, Yong Soo et al. [5]) So, what about these proanthocyanidins? Well, per 100 grams of needles, pinus densiflora showed 3054 mg[5], compared to dried grape seeds, a well-known supplement, containing 3532[6], which is a difference of only 478 mg, or about 1/7th. Proanthocyanidins offer a range of health benefits, to us westerners with our diets which lead to diseases [11] and research on rats indicated no toxicity [7.] Ugartondo et al (2007) stated that “Pine [bark] fractions presented slightly lower antioxidant activity than grape fractions but are less cytotoxic.” [8]
Pinus koraienis
Like P. densiflora, Korean pine was researched to see its antioxidative effects. Though not as good as the aforementioned P. densiflora, the Korean pine still shows good levels of polyphenols [10.]
Pinus sylvestris
Scotch pine was once quite a popular drink, not out of any desire for the taste of pine needles, but out of absolute necessity. In fact, 16 million cups of pine needle tea from this species were drank in Russia in 1942 to fight off scurvy.[9.]
Pinus cembra
A pine of the high, central-eastern European mountain ranges of the Carpathians and Alps, this pine, known by variations of name, including Swiss pine, Stone pine, and Swiss stone pine, is proven to, like other pines researched, contain powerful antioxidants. “These results indicate that Pinus cembra L. bark and needles are good sources of phytochemicals with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.” [12] It seems that the bark is preferable to the needles.
Pinus maritima
Another pine famous for its bark, but this one actually famous, is maritime pine. Sold as Pycnogenol(®), the bark extract of this pine is purported to provide a range of health benefits. Though a clinical trial [13] with admittedly poor selection of patients said that their research was insufficient, I believe that the research speaks for itself [15.]
References:
1: Jeong JB, Seo EW, Jeong HJ. Effect of extracts from pine needle against
oxidative DNA damage and apoptosis induced by hydroxyl radical via antioxidant
activity. Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Aug;47(8):2135-41. doi:
10.1016/j.fct.2009.05.034. Epub 2009 Jun 13. PubMed PMID: 19500637.
2: Sharma, Aditi, Rohit Goyal, and Lalit Sharma. “Potential Biological Efficacy of Pinus Plant Species against Oxidative, Inflammatory and Microbial Disorders.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 16 (2016): 35. PMC. Web. 4 Sept. 2018.
3: The New Hampshire Pine Tree Riot of 1772
New England Historical Society
4: Barnes, Robert L; Berry, Charles R. 1969. Seasonal Changes in Carbohydrates and Ascorbic Acid and White Pine and Possible Relation to Tipburn Sensitivity. Res. Note SE-124. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 4 p.
5: Park, Y. S., Jeon, M. H., Hwang, H. J., Park, M. R., Lee, S.-H., Kim, S. G., & Kim, M. (2011). Antioxidant activity and analysis of proanthocyanidins from pine (Pinus densiflora) needles. Nutrition Research and Practice, 5(4), 281–287. http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2011.5.4.281
6: Liwei Gu, Mark A. Kelm, John F. Hammerstone, Gary Beecher, Joanne Holden, David Haytowitz, Susan Gebhardt, Ronald L. Prior; Concentrations of Proanthocyanidins in Common Foods and Estimations of Normal Consumption, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 134, Issue 3, 1 March 2004, Pages 613–617, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/134.3.613
7: J Yamakoshi, M Saito, S Kataoka, M Kikuchi,
Safety evaluation of proanthocyanidin-rich extract from grape seeds,
Food and Chemical Toxicology,
Volume 40, Issue 5,
2002,
Pages 599-607,
ISSN 0278-6915,
8: Comparative Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Effect of Procyanidin Fractions from Grape and Pine
Vanessa Ugartondo, Montserrat Mitjans, Sonia Touriño, Josep Lluis Torres, and María Pilar Vinardell
Chemical Research in Toxicology 2007 20 (10), 1543-1548
DOI: 10.1021/tx700253y
9: Moskoff W (2002) The bread of affliction. The food supply in the USSR during World War II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10: Won, Sae Bom et al. “Protective Effect of Pinus Koraiensis Needle Water Extract Against Oxidative Stress in HepG2 Cells and Obese Mice.” Journal of Medicinal Food 16.7 (2013): 569–576. PMC. Web. 5 Sept. 2018.
11: Carrera-Bastos P. Fontes-Villalba M. O'Keefe J. Lindeberg S. Cordain L. The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization. Res Rep Clin Cardiol. 2011;2:15–35.
12: Apetrei C. L., Tuchilus C., Aprotosoaie A. C., Oprea A., Malterud K. E., Miron A. Chemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial investigations of Pinus cembra L. bark and needles. Molecules. 2011;16(9):7773–7788. doi: 10.3390/molecules16097773.
13: Schoonees A, Visser J, Musekiwa A, Volmink J.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Apr 18;(4):CD008294. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008294.pub4. Review.
14: Legault, Jean et al. “Antioxidant Potential of Bark Extracts from Boreal Forest Conifers.” Antioxidants 2.3 (2013): 77–89. PMC. Web. 5 Sept. 2018.
15: Iravani, S., and B. Zolfaghari. “Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Effects of Pinus Pinaster Bark Extract.” Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences 6.1 (2011): 1–11. Print.
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