Glucosamine Supplements: Which form is best?

Published:  04/27/2017

Glucosamine is sometimes recommended for someone who has joint pain or arthritis. It appears to offer benefits for both pain relief and slowing down arthritis but check the label.

The best form of glucosamine is SULPHATE. Glucosamine HYDROCHLORIDE has been shown to be less effective. Also, make sure your dosage is enough. For any benefit, you must take at least 1,500mg daily, taken 500mg three times a day. (1) 

I recommend taking a preparation that has been used in a lot of clinical studies. It is a crystalline glucosamine sulfate that you can purchase here on Amazon.  

• The association with pain improvement remained significant only for glucosamine sulfate. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2719308

• Evidence is greatest for the patented crystalline glucosamine sulfate (pCGS) formulation. Careful consideration of the evidence base reveals that only pCGS reliably provides a moderate effect size on pain that is higher than paracetamol and equivalent to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), while non-crystalline GS and GH fail to reach statistical significance for pain reduction. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315612449_Differentiation_of_patented_crystalline_glucosamine_sulfate_from_other_glucosamine_preparations_will_optimize_osteoarthritis_treatment

• The differences among glucosamine preparations presented by the authors, especially the better pharmacokinetics data of serum concentrations of glucosamine of the prescription patented crystalline glucosamine sulfate (pCGS) over other preparations, such as glucosamine hydrochloride, along with supportive clinical trial results of pCGS on symptoms and structure, may indeed explain the heterogeneous results on the overall impact of glucosamine on OA provided by the medical literature. This is further supported by a recent comprehensive network meta‐analysis by Gregori et al stating that long‐term knee OA pain control was significantly achieved only with the prescription‐grade crystalline glucosamine sulfate and not with other glucosamine formulations or combinations. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1756-185X.13522
• (1) Williams C, Ampat G Glucosamine Sulfate StatPearls.(2023-01)