The OPC Story begins in the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence River in the winter of 1534. After discovering Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence, French explorer Jacques Cartier and his crew attempted to make their way down the river. Trapped in five feet of snow and ice-blocked water-ways, the expedition was forced to spend the bitter winter months on the Quebec peninsula. The entire river was frozen above Hochelaga. Existing only on salted meat and biscuits, Cartier's men became seriously ill with what later was thought to be scurvy. Twenty-five of the 110 man crew died and half of the remaining crew were too weak to take care of themselves. Fortunately for his crew, Cartier met a Quebec Indian named Agaya, who told him of the Annedda pine tree. Agaya explained how to strip the needles, pull the bark from the tree and brew a tea. The tea was to be taken every other day. Cartier immediately followed Agaya's instructions, and two of his men volunteered to try the teas. Within one week, they improved so dramatically that the rest of the crew eagerly awaited their first sip of the brew. According to Cartier's account in his travel log. "As soon as they had taken it, they asked for more which turned out to be a miracle as for every illness with which they were afflicted, they were cured and restored to health."

Cartier's documentation of the incident remained hidden in his travel log for over four centuries. Then, a French professor, Jacques Masquelier, on assignment at the University of Quebec, came across Cartier's account of how an extraordinary tea had saved his men's lives. Intrigued by Cartier's account, he suspected that the pine bark was rich in bioflavonoids. Upon returning to France, Masquelier went to work isolating the active ingredients from the pine bark samples. His research revealed highly bioactive substances called proanthocyanidins. Very few species of pines contain significant quantities of this substance. One of the rich resources of proanthocyanidins is the French Pinus maritima (Pinus maritima) found in southern France.

The Original oligomeric proanthocyanidins complex, discovered, isolated, standardized, and patented by Dr. Jack Masquelier; validated by the French Ministry of Health and documented by a library of research since 1947 is backed by over 50 years of research, patents for therapeutic uses and extensive testing for safety.

First extracted in 1947 and patented in 1948 by Dr. Jack Masquelier, Flavay ™ entered the field of therapeutics in 1950 as a vascular protector in France, under the trade name Resivit®. Resivit has been prescribed by French doctors for nearly 50 years.

A few years later, in 1951, Dr. Masquelier received a French patent for the extraction of Flavay ™ from maritime pine bark. In 1964 and 1965 Dr. Masquelier filed for and received two more patents which resulted in the medicine Flavan® in 1968. Flavan is still on sale in French drugstores and prescribed by French doctors, for over 30 years.

From 1972 until 1978, intensive biological, toxicological, pharmacological and analytical research was conducted with Dr. Masquelier's complex for the purpose of registering it as a medicine. The spin-off is a goldmine of data regarding Flavay ™ extracted and manufactured from grape seeds. The tangible result is the third medicine introduced in 1978, Endotélon®, another vascular protector.

Is Flavay ™ the same as "grape seed extract?"
No. Flavay ™ is a highly defined patented polyphenol compex—but crude "grape seed extract" imitations are virtually worthless to the consumer without active, naturally-derived, oligomeric proanthocyanidins and antioxidant capacity—just as you cannot use crude oil in your car's gasoline tank. The proliferation of untested and crude "grape seed extracts" (and artifically-derived proanthocyanidins) and other offshoot imitations that are manufactured from a wide variety of methods and solvents are sold cheap and passed off with scientific research for Flavay ™ (known as ENDOTELON®* in France). Consumers want the authentic product used in the research and Flavay ™ brand is the guarantee of authenticity!

Flavay ™ is the authentic, standardized and isolated, singular polyphenol complex defined, patented and discovered by Dr. Jack Masquelier, inventor of U.S. Patent No. 4,698,360. Pharmaceutical grade Flavay ™ extracted and manufactured from pine bark and grape seeds is imported from Southern France.

The original French and European brands used in the actual scientific research are now sold under the Flavay ™ brand name in the United States.

The patent inventor's name, MASQUELIER's®, must be on the bottle for the authentic MASQUELIER's® ORIGINAL OPCs