Doctor's Best: Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM

Best Glucosamine Sulfate contains pure glucosamine sulfate, as confirmed by HPLC testing. Glucosamine sulfate consists of glucosamine, an amino sugar extracted from "chitin," a component of shellfish skeletons. ("Chitin," the resilient polysaccharide that forms the structural framework of animal shells, is a long-chain polymer consisting of many glucosamine molecules linked together.) The purified glucosamine is then sulfated and stabilized with potassium chloride. Note: Glucosamine sulfate is derived from the shells of ocean-growing shellfish. It is processed to remove all residues of protein and impurities, yielding pure glucosamine sulfate as the final material.

Glucosamine/Chondrotin/MSM contains chondroitin sulfate with a purity of 90 percent or greater. Quality assurance testing is performed using two sophisticated laboratory analysis methods: 1) HPLC and 2) C.P.C. Titration, a newly developed method now accepted as the most definitive test for chondroitin sulfate. Lignisul MSM is natural-source MSM derived from trees. A biological compound that occurs in the human body and in some foods, MSM is an excellent dietary source of bioavailable organic sulfur.

Understanding the Effects

Cartilage contains connective tissue composed of cells (chondrocytes), protein fibers (chiefly collagen) and clusters of complex molecules called "proteoglycans." Proteoglycan molecules are formed from long proteins (polypeptides) with numerous side chains. (The proteoglycan structure looks like a bottle brush.) The attached side chains, chiefly chondroitin sulfate and keratin sulfate, are long polysaccharide molecules called "glycosaminoglycans." 1,2 Glucosamine is a key component of keratin sulfate, and it can be converted to galactosamine, which, along with glucuronic acid, forms chondroitin sulfate.

Cartilage contains collagen fibers embedded within a gel-like matrix known as "intracellular cement." Proteoglycans are the key structural component within this matrix. Chondroitin sulfate and the other glycosaminoglycans have a strong attraction for water, due to negative charges on their sulfate groups. These negative charges also repel each other, creating spaces between glycosaminoglycan side-chains in the proteoglycan molecule. Water enters the spaces, giving cartilage a sponge-like quality that allows it to function as a shock absorber for joints. The movement of water in and out of cartilage allows nutrients to flow in and wastes to flow out.

Glucosamine is also a component of hyaluronic acid, another glycosaminoglycan found in cartilage and other connective tissues. Hyaluronic acid forms the backbone for the proteoglycan clusters. As essential components of cartilage, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are therefore critically important for the health and function of joints.*

The MSM Story

The human body requires a continuous supply of usable sulfur, and MSM is one of the primary organic sulfur-containing molecules for use by living organisms. From life's earliest beginnings, primitive marine organisms (blue-green algae and phytoplankton) have absorbed inorganic sulfur from ocean waters and produced organic sulfur molecules, primarily dimethyl sulfonium salts. These salts are released back into the sea, where they are converted to dimethyl sulfide, which readily evaporates into the upper atmosphere. Dimethyl sulfide is then oxidized by UV light, forming DMSO and MSM. The two compounds are delivered to land masses in rain water, and absorbed by plants. MSM is a stable end-product of this process, serving as a primary source of sulfur in the food chain.

Scientific References:

1. Bland, J.H., Cooper, S.M.: A review of the cell biology involved and evidence for reversibility. Management rationally related to known genesis and pathophysiology. 1984;14(2):106-133.
2. Hardingham, T. Proteoglycans: Their structure, interactions and molecular organization in cartilage. Biochemical Society Transactions 1981;9(6):489-97.