Joint Care Products.
Glucosamine is an aminomonosaccharide naturally occurring in the human body and is produced naturally in the body by chondrocytes in cartilage to help maintain and build healthy joint tissue. The main basic purpose of glucosamine is to create long chains called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which the joints and cartilage require for repair. The GAGs, formerly known as mucopolysaccharides, are long chains of modified disaccharides and are the main component of proteoglycans (PGs). These, along with chondrocytes and collagen, make up cartilage. The chondrocytes use ingested supplemental Glucosamine to produce more cartilage components, which are the four main types of GAGs: chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid, keratan sulphate and, to a lesser extent, dermatan sulphate. So, as you can see, chondrocytes are responsible for the synthesis, maintenance, and regeneration of cartilage. The more Glucosamine at hand means your body has a better chance of decreasing or eliminating pain caused by insufficient lubricants and poor shock absorption.
Chondrocytes have two methods in which to make GAGs. In the first method, a glucose molecule will be phosphorylised (have a phosphate group added) and will then undergo epimerization reactions (basically changing the configuration of the compound). This modified sugar then receives an amino group donated from glutamine. A synthetase reaction (from the glutamine) forms the molecule glucosamine-6-phosphate, which then undergoes additional reactions in GAG synthesis. This is the ?natural way? if you will. The second method is basically the ?supplementary method?. What I mean by this is that the chondrocytes use preformed glucosamine from ingested supplemental sources. When the glucosamine enters the chondrocyte, a phosphorylation reaction occurs forming glucosamine-6-phosphate and from here continues the natural synthesis reactions.
Ingestion of Glucosamine has been shown to actually stimulate GAG and PG production (1). This is because when glucosamine is available for chondrocytes, they are able to produce connective tissue faster because they can skip three chemical reactions, needing only a phosphorylation reaction to make glucosamine-6-phosphate. Also, when supplementary glucosamine is taken, fibrotic articular tissues begin to heal, improving the potential diffusion of glucose and amino acids through joint capsules and synovial membranes. This then provides the chondrocytes with the raw materials necessary (sugar and amino acids) to stimulate the synthesis of GAGs and PGs. At the end of the day, a lack of adequate glucosamine would result in GAG synthesis essentially ?shutting down?. In turn, this would cause proteoglycan synthesis to also cease. It?s at about this time that you may notice joints getting that little bit sorer after a hard workout, or your knees getting stiff a few hours after cardio. Over an extended period of time of continuous ?wear and tear? so to speak, you may very well develop osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is when cartilage becomes worn and exposed bones can rub together. This can get extremely painful and can even affect the joints of bones throughout the spine, which can also become very dangerous for nerves. Glucosamine supplementation is recommended for anyone with osteoarthritis as it has been proven to alleviate pain (2,3,4), increase flexibility (5, 6, 7, 8) and is even comparable to ibuprofen for joint pain relief (9).
Joint Care Products.
Glucosamine is an aminomonosaccharide naturally occurring in the human body and is produced naturally in the body by chondrocytes in cartilage to help maintain and build healthy joint tissue. The main basic purpose of glucosamine is to create long chains called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which the joints and cartilage require for repair. The GAGs, formerly known as mucopolysaccharides, are long chains of modified disaccharides and are the main component of proteoglycans (PGs). These, along with chondrocytes and collagen, make up cartilage. The chondrocytes use ingested supplemental Glucosamine to produce more cartilage components, which are the four main types of GAGs: chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid, keratan sulphate and, to a lesser extent, dermatan sulphate. So, as you can see, chondrocytes are responsible for the synthesis, maintenance, and regeneration of cartilage. The more Glucosamine at hand means your body has a better chance of decreasing or eliminating pain caused by insufficient lubricants and poor shock absorption.
Chondrocytes have two methods in which to make GAGs. In the first method, a glucose molecule will be phosphorylised (have a phosphate group added) and will then undergo epimerization reactions (basically changing the configuration of the compound). This modified sugar then receives an amino group donated from glutamine. A synthetase reaction (from the glutamine) forms the molecule glucosamine-6-phosphate, which then undergoes additional reactions in GAG synthesis. This is the ?natural way? if you will. The second method is basically the ?supplementary method?. What I mean by this is that the chondrocytes use preformed glucosamine from ingested supplemental sources. When the glucosamine enters the chondrocyte, a phosphorylation reaction occurs forming glucosamine-6-phosphate and from here continues the natural synthesis reactions.
Ingestion of Glucosamine has been shown to actually stimulate GAG and PG production (1). This is because when glucosamine is available for chondrocytes, they are able to produce connective tissue faster because they can skip three chemical reactions, needing only a phosphorylation reaction to make glucosamine-6-phosphate. Also, when supplementary glucosamine is taken, fibrotic articular tissues begin to heal, improving the potential diffusion of glucose and amino acids through joint capsules and synovial membranes. This then provides the chondrocytes with the raw materials necessary (sugar and amino acids) to stimulate the synthesis of GAGs and PGs. At the end of the day, a lack of adequate glucosamine would result in GAG synthesis essentially ?shutting down?. In turn, this would cause proteoglycan synthesis to also cease. It?s at about this time that you may notice joints getting that little bit sorer after a hard workout, or your knees getting stiff a few hours after cardio. Over an extended period of time of continuous ?wear and tear? so to speak, you may very well develop osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is when cartilage becomes worn and exposed bones can rub together. This can get extremely painful and can even affect the joints of bones throughout the spine, which can also become very dangerous for nerves. Glucosamine supplementation is recommended for anyone with osteoarthritis as it has been proven to alleviate pain (2,3,4), increase flexibility (5, 6, 7, 8) and is even comparable to ibuprofen for joint pain relief (9).
Joint Care Products.
