FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
choose a topic below:

Joint Fluid - Oral Absorption Studies

Joint Fluid (HA) rejuvenates, rehydrates and lubricates joints. Oral administration of HA has only very recently been explored. Because of its large molecular weight and size, HA was assumed to have no or impractical bioavailability after oral administration. Schiff Nutrition International co-sponsored independently-conducted animal studies that have shown solid evidence for uptake and persistence of orally administered HA into joints and connective tissues (Balogh 2008; Schauss 2004; Schauss 2008). Radioactively labeled HA was fed orally to rats and dogs, and radioactivity measured by tissue counts, nanoSPECT/CT scans, autoradiography and whole-body scintigraphy in two separate studies. The radioactive label (99mTc-pertechnetate) was fed to other animals as a control. Approximately 5-13% of HA was retained in tissues 72 hours after ingestion of a single dose. Most radioactivity from the HA group was excreted in feces, not urine. However, the control group excreted almost all radioactivity in urine (as expected) and exhibited a different pattern of tissue uptake compared to the HA group. (See Figures – reproduced from Supply Side West VendorWorks 2007 presentation by Schiff Nutrition International) This data was published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry in 2008 and thus represents the first peer-reviewed scientific evidence for uptake of HA into tissues after oral administration. From this data, it can be estimated that approximately 4.5 billion HA molecules would appear in a human knee joint after ingestion of 3.3 mg Joint Fluid.
Figure legend: Autoradiography of tissue pieces from rats fed equivalent amounts of radioactivity from 99mTc-pertechnetate or 99mTechnetium-Hyaluronan 24 hours earlier. Radioactivity was significantly higher in the HA group (approximately 200 times greater), indicating uptake and persistence of radioactive HA after oral ingestion. Reproduced from Supply Side West VendorWorks presentation, October 2007.
Figure Legend: NanoSPECT/CT scans of rat joints ex vivo 48 hours after ingestion of 2000 MBq of 99mTc-Hyaluronan. Color indicates incorporation of radioactivity in joint cavity and cartilage. This pattern was not seen in control animals fed 99mpertechnetate. Reproduced from Supply Side West VendorWorks presentation, October 2007.
Further evidence of joint health benefits from Joint Fluid come from a human clinical study comparing joint health effects of Glucosamine (1500 mg) + Chondroitin (1200 mg) (GC) to GC plus HA (3.3 mg per day) (Bucci 2005d). The group with added Joint Fluid showed a significant 29% improvement in joint comfort after eight weeks compared to 15% for the GC group (see Figure). In addition, oral use of high molecular weight HA has exhibited joint health benefits in several animal studies (Bergin 2006; Martinez-Puig 2007; Pierce 2003; Stancikova 2004) and human clinical studies (Bucci 2005d; Handl 2003; Kalman 2008). Thus, evidence for biological effects after oral administration of HA exists and is growing.
In summary, extensive research and clinical studies have shown that integrity of HA is important for joint health, and that exposing joint tissues to high molecular weight HA, even in small amounts over long time periods, is associated with joint health benefits.
THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.