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Glucosamine, the joint pain cure?

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Written by Jamaal Harrison

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

by JamaalHarrison

Glucosamine is an important natural compound in the human body, synthesized from a combination of the sugar glucose and the amino acid glutamine. It is important because it functions to maintain joint help by creating new cartilage and other body tissues. Like many other essentials, we make less and less glucosamine as we grow older.

Glucosamine is an amino sugar and a famous precursor in the biochemical mixture of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is found as a major component of the exoskeletons of crustaceans and other arthropods, in fungi and numerous higher organisms and is one of the most plentiful monosaccharides. It is formed commercially by the hydrolysis of crustacean exoskeletons.

It is often used to treat osteoarthritis, even though expert opinions as to its effectiveness in medical therapy vary. It can be purchased as a nutritional supplement in fitness food stores as well as in various drug stores. Supplements are created in a lab from chitin, which is a substance that comes from the shells of shrimp, lobster, crab, and other sea creatures. In addition to this, glucosamine is added to sports drinks and can also be found in certain cosmetics.

Glucosamine supplements also often contain another naturally occurring substance in cartilage, chondroitin sulfate. This compound helps cartilage remain soft and flexible. Another common compound give with glucosamine is Methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM. Glucosamine is commonly used as part of the treatment for osteoarthritis. In this condition, often affecting the knees, cartilage loses elasticity and becomes stiff and wears down. This leads to irritation, swelling, loss of range of motion and pain.

Since the body's natural glucosamine is used to make and repair joint cartilage, having glucosamine as a nutritional supplement is considered to help repair injured cartilage by supplementing the body's contribution of glucosamine. There is hopeful proof that glucosamine may decrease pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis and possibly slow the succession of osteoarthritis. Still, doctors often suggest a three month experiment of glucosamine and discontinuing it if there is no progress after these three months. A usual quantity for osteoarthritis is 1,500 mg of glucosamine sulfate on a daily basis.

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