|
About the Quality of Glucosamine
in Dietary Supplements
Glucosamine is a widely used ingredient that occurs naturally in the
body of warm-blooded animals, and forms an important building block
of joint cartilage. Glucosamine may help build tissue that holds
water providing cartilage thickness and giving it a cushioning
effect. Dozens of scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that
dietary supplementation of glucosamine in combination with
chondroitin, another building block of cartilage, benefits
connective tissues.
 
Quality
Glucosamine typically originates in China and nearly all is produced
from shellfish. The quality of glucosamine varies and is sometimes
not of the expected purity. Several consumer studies have brought to
light that glucosamine products sold in stores contain between 0%
and 115% of the glucosamine claimed on the labels. This is not to
say that manufacturers add less than the desired amount on purpose,
but rather that the glucosamine used is of dubious quality. Another
problem with commonly used glucosamine is that animals that are
shellfish intolerant may respond adversely to shellfish-derived
glucosamine, even though the chemical process should eliminate
almost any proteins present in the source material. By using a
vegetarian form of Glucosamine, Regenasure, this potential problem
is avoided. This ingredient is used exclusively in our Arthrix Plus
Hypo-allergenic formula.
RegenasureŽ Vegetarian
Glucosamine (in Arthrix Plus
Hypoallergenic)
Cargill, an international provider of food and agricultural
products, is the sole producer of a patented, vegetarian form of
glucosamine, i.e., a non-shellfish, non-animal derived form of this
popular ingredient. This form of glucosamine is marketed under the
brand name RegenasureŽ glucosamine. The stabilized chemical form of
this molecule is the hydrochloride salt, as this form yields the
most glucosamine per unit weight. Nevertheless a major disadvantage
of this vegetarian glucosamine is that it costs about two to three
times as much as the more popular animal-derived forms of
glucosamine. RegenasureŽ glucosamine is pharmaceutical grade and
therefore of the highest possible purity, and is produced by means
of a unique and patented fermentation process. Not only is
RegenasureŽ glucosamine of high quality, it also is obtained from
corn and therefore not subject to the shortcomings of animal-derived
glucosamine. This important fact is a major benefit to people and
pets allergic to shellfish. |
