OPC grape seed extract capsules

What is OPC actually?

Oligomeric proanthocyanidins or procyanidins are secondary plant substances that belong to the polyphenols. Strictly speaking, they belong to the subclass of flavonoids and flavanols. The latter group also includes green tea catechins such as the well-known EGCG or ECG.

OPCs are actually catechins, which mostly combine to form dimers and trimers, thus forming a kind of catechin chain (see illustration). They occur naturally in apples, wild blackberries or the red skins of peanuts, for example. However, the best source for our OPC complex capsules are grape seeds (especially red grape varieties), grape skins and also red grape leaves.

Catechins or epicatechins can aggregate and form oligomeric or polymeric proanthocyanidins (OPC or PPC). ( Source )

Like all other secondary plant substances, OPC is increasingly produced under stress conditions in plants and serves, for example, as UV protection. Due to their ability to scavenger free radicals, OPC has a strong antioxidant effect. In a direct comparison under laboratory conditions, they are 18 times more effective as an antioxidant than vitamin C and 40 times more effective than vitamin E. Conversely, OPC appears to enhance the effect of other antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E or vitamin A.

In the form of a supplement - such as OPC complex capsules - OPC can be absorbed mainly via a grape seed extract (GSE). This has a very high proportion of OPC and thus serves as an optimal source.