Joint supplement ingredients and their benefits & required quantities

[little_critter]

I’m going down a joint supplement rabbit hole!
Can anyone summarise (or point me to a good resource that can explain) the purpose of/ benefits of the common ingredients in joint supplements (eg glucosamine, HA, MSM, Boswelia, chondroitin etc etc)
Also what are the beneficial levels of each ingredient (eg HA is beneficial to x but you need to take y amount to see that benefit)

 

[TheMule]

David Marlin is probably the best resource, as much as he's a pretty divisive character!

Dr David Marlin on Equine Joint Supplements - Jan 2023 - AskAnimalweb

Dr David Marlin has revisited equine joint supplements, he’s run a survey of over 2000 horse owners, he’s updated his tables and graphs and now we know – which are the BEST equine joint supplements, which horse joint supplements are valued for money, and are we giving our horse the best?! Read...

askanimalweb.com

But basically, we don’t know really what works and in what quantity because conclusive in vivo studies are incredibly hard to conduct. I dont use a joint supplement, I prefer to feed my horses properly with a mixture of grasses and hedging plants topped up with the deficient amino acids and minerals, give them good hoof care, and to work them in balance and on good surfaces (whilst keeping my own weight down) because it's concussion and uneven loading that ruins joints.

 

[smolmaus]

Yeah DM I take with a grain of salt, even if he has financially divested from the Science Supplements business (according to a friend who is an acolyte). But he does provide more information than other companies, which is appreciated.

I was at a sponsored event at the weekend and the company makes a dietary silicon based supplement. I am almost out of my current joint supplement and I dont know if I can be bothered going down rhe rabbit hole again with more bloody variables or just chuck £80 at something and call it a panacea for my brain.

I might have a spreadsheet somewhere with some popular supplements, if it wasn't on the sheet I accidentally deleted. Will have a dig ETA nevermind, it's gone. How annoying!!

 

[Hazzelnutt]

I’m going down a joint supplement rabbit hole!
Can anyone summarise (or point me to a good resource that can explain) the purpose of/ benefits of the common ingredients in joint supplements (eg glucosamine, HA, MSM, Boswelia, chondroitin etc etc)
Also what are the beneficial levels of each ingredient (eg HA is beneficial to x but you need to take y amount to see that benefit)

You might find this a useful table! Glucosamine is used by the body to make other chemicals that build tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the fluid that surrounds joints. Boswellia is used as a natural anti inflammatory. As mentioned already there are limited in vivo studies to support but there is evidence of sorts to support the above levels.

 

[Andie02]

I’m going down a joint supplement rabbit hole!
Can anyone summarise (or point me to a good resource that can explain) the purpose of/ benefits of the common ingredients in joint supplements (eg glucosamine, HA, MSM, Boswelia, chondroitin etc etc)
Also what are the beneficial levels of each ingredient (eg HA is beneficial to x but you need to take y amount to see that benefit)

There is loads of info on the Riaflex website and the owner Kate is very knowledgeable and helpful with enquiries. There was a comparison table on their fb page ages ago and Riaflex joint supplement came out on top compared to other brands.