Grapes have been used by humans for thousands of years. They were around during the Bronze age. The Greek poet, Homer, who lived about 700 BC, talked of wine made from grapes. The fruit is mentioned in the Bible, and Egyptian tombs and relics have representations of grapes on them.

People have used grapes for purposes other than eating or making into wine or juice. European folk healers, hundreds of years ago, made an ointment from the sap in the stems to cure skin and eye diseases. Leaves were astringent and hemostatic, that is, they were used to stop bleeding, inflammation, and pain, such as the kind brought on by hemorrhoids. Unripe grapes treated sore throats; dried grapes, or raisins, treated consumption, constipation, and thirst. The round, ripe, sweet grapes, however, had the most uses of all, used to treat cancer, cholera, smallpox, nausea, eye infections, and skin, kidney, and liver diseases.

Plant Description

Grapes are native to Asia near the Caspian Sea, but were brought to North America and Europe: European settlers brought grapes to North America in the 1600s. This plant's climbing vine has large, jagged leaves, and its stem bark tends to peel. The grapes themselves may be green, red, or purple.

What's It Made Of?

Today we eat grapes or raisins because we like them, and we drink wine and grape juice for the same reason. But in 1970, a biochemist in France isolated from grape seed a material that improves blood circulation—oligomeric proanthocyandin (OPC). It also reduces swelling, and may even prevent heart disease. OPC is one of the substances in red grape juice and red wine that has been shown to have some protective properties against heart disease. Because of its OPCs, grapes are now harvested not only for the food and drink products we are familiar with, but also as a source of these therapeutically active ingredients.

First and foremost, OPCs are antioxidants, which help the body to handle assaults that could eventually cause disease, such as cigarette smoke and environmental chemicals. They are different from a broader category of stress protectors called adaptogens, which also protect you from chemical or physical substances. Antioxidants or adaptogens also protect you from physical and mental exhaustion and help you recover after an illness. Both antioxidants and adaptogens may help us avoid at least two of the big killers today: cardiovascular disease and cancer.

OPC's antioxidant actions may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Some studies suggest that it might reduce the formation of plaques in the arteries, and may help regenerate damaged tissue lining the arteries. If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, you may want to look into taking OPCs. Chronic venous insufficiency is another reason to take OPCs, as is vision disturbance from diabetic nephropathy or macular degeneration, for example. These uses of OPC have been supported in clinical studies.

Future uses may include the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and to stop swelling in the face after plastic surgery. OPC has helped reduce the breast discomfort and aching joints and legs that sometimes occur with PMS, and has decreased recovery time from plastic surgery. Antitumor actions have also been shown.

Available Forms

Grape seed extracts are available in fluid extract form or in capsules and tablets. Look for products that are standardized to 95 percent OPC content.

How to Take It

Results from clinical trials suggest that grape seed OPCs may help vision difficulty as well as chronic venous insufficiency and its symptoms. Lymphedema, varicose veins, cancer, premenstrual syndrome, dental caries, and circulatory disorders are some of the many other types of conditions that OPC treatment might help with.

As a preventative for arterial plaques, vision disorders, or other conditions, take 50 mg standardized extract per day. For specific illness, 150 to 300 mg per day is recommended, but consult your health care provider and don't self-prescribe.

Precautions

There are currently no precautions for grape seed OPC use. It is considered very safe.

Possible Interactions

Grape seed extract may enhance the effects of anti-inflammatory medications and cholesterol-lowering medications. Therefore, consult with your health care professional before taking grape seed extract along with such medications.

There have been reports of a possible decrease in the effectiveness of antibiotics, specifically tetracycline and tetracycline-derivatives like doxycycline. If you are currently taking any of these antibiotics, you should not use this herb.

Supporting Research

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