Herbs & Supplements

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Uses

Glucosamine is available in several different forms that are usually called "salts". Most of the clinical studies investigating glucosamine's medical effects have used a salt known as glucosamine sulfate, but other salts such as glucosamine hydrochloride and n-acetyl glucosamine are also sold widely. While all the salts of glucosamine contain the same general components, they may not all produce the same effects in the body. Generally, researchers have reported more effectiveness for glucosamine sulfate than glucosamine hydrochloride. No studies have compared them, though, so not enough information is available about potential differences in their activity to know whether they are interchangeable.

Alone or combined with another dietary supplement called chondroitin, glucosamine has been studied extensively for treating osteoarthritis (OA), a condition that generally results from wear-and-tear on joints. In OA, deterioration of the cartilage, which cushions the joints, leads to pain, swelling, and loss of movement. Since glucosamine provides a major component of cartilage, it is believed that supplemental glucosamine may delay further degeneration. It may also actually help to repair deteriorating cartilage and it may promote the manufacture of synovial fluid--the jelly-like substance that cushions and lubricates the joints. In general, glucosamine has shown moderate ability to relieve the pain of OA, as well as to restore partial movement to affected joints. Chondroitin is believed to provide a different chemical important in the formation of cartilage, but its effects are not as well defined as glucosamine's. Although glucosamine has been studied most for treating OA of large joints such as knees and hips, it has also showed some effectiveness for relieving arthritis in other joints such as the lower back and the jaw, which is also known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Glucosamine is also important for healthy skin. Adequate amounts of it in the blood are necessary for the production of hyaluronic acid, one of the substances essential to heal skin injuries. Therefore, glucosamine plays a major role in the healing of surgical incisions and skin wounds. In a few studies, participants who began taking supplemental glucosamine before surgery and continued taking it until their incisions were completely healed showed generally faster healing with less scarring than other participants who did not take glucosamine. Wound dressings that contain a modified type of glucosamine known as poly-N-acetyl glucosamine are being studied to stop major bleeding. In other research, a few studies evaluating whether supplemental glucosamine helps to prevent or reverse wrinkling have had mixed results. Because natural production of hyaluronic acid decreases as individuals age, decreases in it may contribute to wrinkling of the skin. It is thought that increasing glucosamine may help the skin stay more flexible.

In a few small studies, n-acetyl glucosamine has shown promise for treating inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. N-acetyl glucosamine forms part of an enzyme needed to produce mucus. Therefore, it is believed to increase the production of the mucus that lines the lower gastrointestinal tract, providing a protective effect. More research for this possible use is needed.