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.

Regenasure® 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 Regenasure® 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. Regenasure® 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 Regenasure® 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.

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This site was last updated on September 21, 2007