- High content of active principles (standardised to 95% chondroitin).
- Vegetarian capsules guaranteed to be pesticide-free.
- Rapidly absorbed in the gut.
- Rarely found in the diet.
Producing chondroitin with such exceptional purity (95%) requires a complex and costly manufacturing process. Many less scrupulous suppliers bypass this, and use mediocre-quality materials such as ground cartilage in their supplements, yet still label them as containing ‘chondroitin: in such cases, purity is around 5% at best. In 2011, laboratory tests revealed that numerous supplements contained ground cartilage (1). If a chondroitin supplement seems unusually cheap, you’d be right to suspect this kind of dishonest practice.
This is obviously not the case with Chondroitin Sulfate 95% which, because of its pharmaceutical quality and purity of its active principles, rated at 95%, remains one of the best chondroitin products available.
Chondroitin supplements are very often made from beef and veal cartilage, and sometimes even pork cartilage (though this is not always mentioned). One study (2) showed that marine-source cartilage contains far fewer soluble proteins and nucleic acids (part of what are termed ‘impurities’) than beef, pork or alevin (chicken) cartilage.
What’s more, marine-source chondroitin supplements enable the use of fishery co-products containing highly-nutritious molecules. Such use is consistent with the Common Fisheries Policy which aims to reduce the amount of fish thrown back into the sea and ensure responsible and sustainable fishing.
Many people wonder if chondroitin is well-absorbed by the body as it’s a very large molecule. Indeed, products with a low molecular weight (less than 16,000 daltons) will be completely absorbed, whereas larger molecules will only be 8%-18% absorbed (3). However this rate of absorption is still very acceptable for a dose equivalent to 1200mg per month.
Its galenic form (vegetarian capsule) means it is rapidly absorbed in the gut and is not affected by foods.
Daily serving: 3 capsules Number of servings per bottle: 30 |
Quantity per serving |
Chondroitin sulfate (of marine origin) | 1 200 mg |
Other ingredients: Acacia gum, rice flour. |
Hyaluronic Acid supplement is a high molecular weight sodium hyaluronate, that brings benefits for both improving lubrication of the joints and helping to maintain good hydration in the skin.
Over the past few years, hyaluronic acid has received significant attention from both the medical press and the cosmetics sector. It’s a polysaccharide macromolecule from the glycosaminoglycan family which is abundant in the skin and synovial fluid (the viscous fluid surrounding our joints). Under normal conditions, the human body contains around 12g.
It’s produced by cells called chondrocytes and synoviocytes to increase the viscosity of synovial fluid, which improves the lubrication of the joints. It also helps maintain good hydration in the skin by capturing water and retaining it in the skin’s deeper layers (1). In some cases, it also reduces the concentration of inflammatory mediators and the activity of immune cells.
The viscosity of the gel depends on the chain length of the hyaluronic acid. The higher its molecular weight, the greater the molecule’s capacity for absorbing water. Therefore, with a molecular weight of 1.2 million Daltons, Hyaluronic Acid 150 mg is one of the best sodium hyaluronate supplements available.
Hyaluronic acid is present in the form of sodium hyaluronate (also called hyaluronan) in the synovial fluid surrounding joints. It usually has a molecular weight of more than 1 million Daltons and under normal conditions, is highly concentrated. As a result of its specific structure and considerable size, it can retain enormous amounts of water (up to 1000 times its own weight), and all the nutrients and hydrophilic substances that go with it. It is solely responsible for the viscosity and elasticity of synovial fluid.
In certain disease states, both the concentration and molecular weight of sodium hyaluronate decrease, contributing to an increase in inflammatory processes and adverse effects on cartilage (2).
Studies show that low molecular weight hyaluronic acid molecules have a completely different function in the body: they can activate cascades of molecular events which trigger the release of inflammatory cytokines. Following trauma, enzymes break the hyaluronic acid up into multiple molecules of lower molecular weight which have a pro-inflammatory effect.
These effects are not seen with large hyaluronic acid molecules, which supports the belief that they are not broken down by digestive enzymes before crossing the intestinal barrier.
Daily dose: 2 capsules Number of doses per pack: 30 |
Amount |
High molecular weight sodium hyaluronate | 300 mg |
Other ingredients: acacia gum, rice flour. |
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