Safety and therapeutic efficacy of undenatured type-ii collagen (UC-II) in comparison to glucosamine and chondroitin in arthritic horses

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, which causes severe inflammation and loss of cartilage. It is a debilitating disease that commonly affects thousands of horses each year. Recently, we assessed the anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory potential of undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) in horses. This comparative investigation evaluated arthritic pain in horses receiving daily placebo, UC-II 320 mg/day (providing 80 mg active UC-II), 480 mg/day (providing 120 mg active UC-II), or 640 mg/day (providing 160 mg active UC-II), and glucosamine and chondroitin (5.4 g/day and 1.8 g/day, respectively, bid for the first month, and thereafter once daily) for 150 days. Pain in each leg was evaluated using the flexion test and the lameness-grading system after the initial two strides. Average pain of all four legs represented the pain for each horse. Horses receiving placebo showed no change in arthritic condition, while those receiving 320, 480, or 640 mg UC-II exhibited significant reduction in arthritic pain (P < 0.05). UC-II at 480 mg dose provided optimal effects. With this dose, reduction in overall pain was from 5.7 ± 0.0.42 (100%) to 0.7 ± 0.42 (12%); and in pain upon limb manipulation from 2.35 ± 0.37 (100%) to 0.52 ± 0.18 (22%). In regards to glucosamine and chondroitin treated group, although reduction in pain was significant compared to pretreated values, the efficacy was significantly less compared with that observed with UC-II. UC-II was found to be twice as effective as glucosamine and chondroitin in arthritic horses. Clinically, physical condition, and liver (ALP, GGT, and bilirubin), kidney (BUN and creatinine), and heart (CK) functions remained unchanged, suggesting that these supplements were well tolerated. Overall, these results demonstrate that UC-II was significantly more efficacious than glucosamine and chondroitin in arthritic horses.