Healthy Joint Support with Glucosamine Sulfate
What is Glucosamine Sulfate?
Glucosamine is chemically an amino sugar, which is predominantly known for its role in developing and maintaining the cartilage within your joints.It’s also found in some animal and plant tissues, including shellfish, animal bones and fungi, with supplements often made from these types.
Glucosamine sulfate supplements are often used to try to prevent and treat joint disorders like osteoarthritis, often in an oral form like capsule or powder, or a topical treatment.
Glucosamine Sulfate Benefits
A major component of keratin sulfate and hyaluronic acid which play important roles in the body, as a nutritional supplement glucosamine sulfate is used as discussed above for joint support, conditions like osteoarthritis, and joint pain.
Glucosamine to Support Healthy Joints
One of the main roles of naturally occurring glucosamine is to support the healthy development of articular cartilage, a smooth white tissue that covers where your bones meet, to form joints.
It’s thought that glucosamine promotes the creation of chemical compounds like collagen, that are important structural components in the body.
Some research studies have revealed that taking a glucosamine supplement can help protect joint tissue by preventing the breakdown of cartilage in athletes. A study released in 2019 showed a daily dose for three months decreased the breakdown of cartilage in young soccer and rugby players.
Several studies have shown the significance of taking glucosamine sulfate as a long-term treatment for osteoarthritis by significantly reducing pain and slowing the disease’s progression.
Glucosamine to Reduce Inflammation
Results of a study released in 2015 showed glucosamine can have a difference when it comes to reducing inflammation in overweight adults. Supplementing glucosamine and chondroitin for 28 days saw a 23% reduction on biomarkers that show systemic inflammation, compared with those who took a placebo.
It’s not yet known whether glucosamine has any localised anti-inflammatory effects, with it being shown to lower systematic inflammation. Glucosamine and chondroitin have been shown to inhibit the activation of inflammatory pathways, suggesting it can assist with inflammation occurring throughout the body. It has also been linked to a lower risk of developing conditions that are impacted by inflammation, like type 2 diabetes.
Research has been looking into whether glucosamine can make a difference for people with inflammatory bowel disease. A study in mice found glucosamine could reduce inflammation, with a small human study finding a type of glucosamine supplement showed improvements in some symptoms including pain.
How Much Glucosamine Should I Take?
It’s recommended a medical professional is consulted before adding a glucosamine supplement to your diet, to ensure it will suit your requirements and to tailor your treatment.
Alternatively, follow the directions provided by the supplement manufacturer.
References:
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- Navarro, S.L., White, E., Kantor, E.D., Zhang, Y., Rho, J., Song, X., Milne, G.L., Lampe, P.D. and Lampe, J.W. (2015). Randomized Trial of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Supplementation on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Plasma Proteomics Profiles in Healthy Humans. PLOS ONE, 10(2), p.e0117534. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117534
- Yamagishi, Y., Someya, A., Imai, K., Nagao, J. and Nagaoka, I. (2017). Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory actions of various functional food materials including glucosamine on synovial cells. Molecular Medicine Reports, [online] 16(2), pp.1353–1359. doi: https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.6691
- Ma, H., Li, X., Zhou, T., Sun, D., Liang, Z., Li, Y., Heianza, Y. and Qi, L. (2020). Glucosamine Use, Inflammation, and Genetic Susceptibility, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Study in UK Biobank. Diabetes Care, 43(4), pp.719–725. doi: https://doi.org/10.2337/dc19-1836
- Correa, D. and Lietman, S.A. (2017). Articular cartilage repair: Current needs, methods and research directions. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 62, pp.67–77. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2016.07.013
- Nagaoka, I., Tsuruta, A. and Yoshimura, M. (2019). Chondroprotective action of glucosamine, a chitosan monomer, on the joint health of athletes. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 132, pp.795–800. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.03.234
- Beaudart, C., Lengelé, L., Leclercq, V., Geerinck, A., Sanchez-Rodriguez, D., Bruyère, O. and Reginster, J.Y. (2020). Symptomatic Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatments for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and a Network Meta-Analysis with a 6-Month Time Horizon. Drugs, 80(18), pp.1947–1959. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-020-01423-8
- Zhu, X., Sang, L., Wu, D., Rong, J. and Jiang, L. (2018). Effectiveness and safety of glucosamine and chondroitin for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, [online] 13(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-018-0871-5
- Azuma, K., Osaki, T., Kurozumi, S., Kiyose, M., Tsuka, T., Murahata, Y., Imagawa, T., Itoh, N., Minami, S., Sato, K. and Okamoto, Y. (2015). Anti-inflammatory effects of orally administered glucosamine oligomer in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease. Carbohydrate Polymers, 115, pp.448–456. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.09.012
- www.naturalmedicinejournal.com. (n.d.). N-Acetylglucosamine for Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. [online] Available at: https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/n-acetylglucosamine-treatment-inflammatory-bowel-disease
