Can the supplements glucosamine and chondroitin be manufactured from non-animal sources?
Maybe a better question is why you would want to supplement these in the first place. If I’m not mistaken, they’re just substituted polysaccharides, surely broken down by the digestive system into simple sugars (ie glucose) long before having any specific biological effect. – Mark I’ve asked a number of manufacturers how they make glucosamine and the answer is always based on fish. – Jerry According to the abstract below, oral glucosamine is incorporated into joint cartilage. Evidence for benefit in the treatment of osteoarthritis is consistent among several clinical trials, but is not conclusive due to methodologic errors. As I understand it, little if any testing of chodroitin, either alone or in combination with glucosamine, has been reported. – Jay Ann Pharmacother 1998 May;32(5):574-9 Glucosamine. Barclay TS, Tsourounis C, McCart GM School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
