Glucosamine debate: Sulphate or Hydrochloride?

Glucosamine is the most popular supplement for joint support and it’s also well established to be an effective treatment for joint-related conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  There is an ongoing debate, however, about which form of glucosamine works better and is more efficient – sulphate or hydrochloride. Nutritionist Dr Nina Bailey explains.

The delivery vehicle: glucosamine sulphate or hydrochloride?

It should be stressed that the active ingredient in any glucosamine product is only the glucosamine element, and that the hydrochloride or sulphate acid salt is purely a delivery vehicle.  Therefore, the amount of glucosamine present in 1500 mg of glucosamine salt will depend on the amount of ‘vehicle’ present and whether additional salts are included in the supplement. In short, the benefits delivered by a product will depend on its purity and stability, and this is where the two salts differ.

The simple answer is that they both fare equally in their actions; the majority of early trials and studies have primarily used glucosamine in its sulphate form, rather than hydrochloride, purely because of availability at the time.  Not surprisingly, much of the data has rested on the actions of glucosamine sulphate.  Only more recently has glucosamine hydrochloride been able to stand its ground and the results from several well conducted trials demonstrate that hydrochloride is as efficient as the sulphate form (Houpt et al, 1999; Qiu et al, 2005; Zang et al, 2007)

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