Pycnogenol is a proprietary phytochemical extracted from the bark of the French maritime pine (Pinus maritima Aiton; the official botanical name is now Pinus pinaster Aiton). It is a blend of oligomeric and monomeric procyanidins, caffeic acid, gallic acid and other precursors of procyanidins. It is an antioxidant shown to have anti-inflammatory activity in both the in vitro and in vivo models. This study compared the effects of chewing gums with and without Pycnogenol on gingival bleeding and plaque formation in 40 human subjects. In this double-blind study, subjects were assigned randomly to receive either control gums without Pycnogenol or experimental gums containing 5 mg Pycnogenol. Subjects used chewing gum for 14 days. Gingival bleeding and plaque scores were taken before and after the experiment. Pycnogenol chewing gum significantly reduced gingival bleeding, while no changes were noted in bleeding indexes in control subjects that used regular chewing gum. Subjects using regular control gum had significant increases of dental plaque accumulation during the 2-week period. No increases in plaque accumulation were noted in subjects using Pycnogenol chewing gum.