Glucosamine Use and Inflammation in Chronic Diseases

Glucosamine, a naturally occurring amino sugar, has been widely adopted as a complementary supplement for osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. Beyond its role in cartilage metabolism, accumulating evidence suggests that glucosamine may exert anti-inflammatory effects across a range of chronic diseases. Preclinical models indicate that glucosamine can inhibit key inflammatory pathways, limit cytokine production and modulate oxidative stress. In epidemiological studies, habitual users of glucosamine have been observed to experience lower incidence of cardiovascular events, reduced all-cause mortality and diminished risks of certain cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. However, variation in study design, potential confounding by concurrent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and heterogeneity of populations have led to mixed conclusions regarding its efficacy and safety. Emerging genetic analyses further complicate the picture by suggesting disease-specific associations that diverge from observational findings. Taken together, the breadth of research underscores both the promise and the complexity of glucosamine as a modulator of inflammation in chronic disease, and highlights the need for rigorous mechanistic, longitudinal and interventional studies to delineate its therapeutic potential.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A population-based case–control investigation examined the relationship between regular glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate use and colorectal cancer risk. Data from over 6,000 participants revealed that users of these supplements had a substantially lower odds of colorectal cancer compared with non-users. The protective association was attenuated after accounting for concurrent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug consumption, suggesting that glucosamine’s apparent benefit may in part reflect overlapping anti-inflammatory mechanisms. A subsequent pooled analysis of earlier studies supported an overall inverse link between combined glucosamine–chondroitin use and colorectal neoplasia, but emphasised the necessity of controlled trials to confirm an independent chemopreventive effect and to investigate optimal dosing, duration and safety profiles.

Glucosamine Use and Inflammation in Chronic Diseases publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in glucosamine use and inflammation in chronic diseases across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

NF-κB: A key transcription factor that orchestrates the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune-response genes.

C-reactive protein (CRP): An acute-phase protein synthesised by the liver, widely used as a clinical biomarker of systemic inflammation.

Mendelian randomisation: A genetic epidemiology method that uses inherited variants as proxies for exposures to infer potential causal relationships with health outcomes.

References

1. Randomized Trial of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Supplementation on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Plasma Proteomics Profiles in Healthy Humans. PLOS ONE (2015).
2. Associations of regular glucosamine use with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a large prospective cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020).
3. Possible role of chondroitin sulphate and glucosamine for primary prevention of colorectal cancer. Results from the MCC-Spain study. Scientific Reports (2018).
4. Association between genetically proxied glucosamine and risk of cancer and non-neoplastic disease: A Mendelian randomization study. Frontiers in Genetics (2024).