Joint N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) dietary supplement

Glucosamine is an amino-monosaccharide produced endogenously in humans and animals from glucose and glutamine which is then converted into N-acetylglucosamine.

First used clinically by German doctors in 1969, it is very popular in Europe, and has in recent years also attracted considerable interest in the Americas and Asia. Unfortunately, its growing popularity has meant that the quality of supplements has fallen significantly over the last 10 years.

Where is glucosamine found in the diet? There are actually no foods that contain glucosamine.

Where does N-acetyl-glucosamine come from? How is it produced?

The ingredient in our supplement is naturally extracted from the chitin of marine invertebrates (the shells of shrimps, lobsters, crabs, etc). It’s an organic material with amazing physical and chemical properties.

Enzymes are then used to hydrolyse (break down) the molecule into several pieces. Many organisms contain these chitinase enzymes (1) which are involved in a range of physiological and pathological functions (2). Once these enzymes have completely digested the chitin molecule, we get N-acetyl-glucosamine (3).

What are glucosamine’s mechanisms of action?

Its mechanisms of action are being investigated: hundreds of scientific studies are published every year but because of current European regulations, we cannot cite any of them.

Almost 90% of glucosamine taken orally is absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Glucosamine is well-known for easily crossing the body’s biological barriers, except in the stomach where its polar form prevents it from passing through cell membranes.

Following first-pass metabolism in the liver, it is distributed to various biological structures in the body. The metabolised portion is thus found in carbon dioxide in exhaled air.