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Encyclopedia of Pain pp 1491–1493Cite as

Nutraceuticals

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Synonyms

Glucosamine; chondroitin; Avocado-Soybean-Unsaponifiables

Definition

Nutraceuticals are loosely defined as foods with a health benefit. They are naturally occurring substances that can be used as drugs in order to treat specific symptoms, or to modify disease processes. In the field of osteoarthritis, four nutraceuticals have been recognised and studied: glucosamine, chondroitin, glycosaminoglycan polysulfuric acid, and Avocado-Soybean-Unsaponifiables (ASU).

Glucosamine is a hexosamine sugar that is a component of almost all human tissues. It is one of the two molecules that form the repeating units of certain glycosaminoglycans, which in turn form the matrix of all connective tissues (Deal and Moskowitz 1999). Glycosaminoglycans, and therefore glucosamine, form a large component of articular cartilage, which is the tissue that is primarily damaged in osteoarthritis.

Chondroitin sulphate is the principal glycosaminoglycan found in articular cartilage. It is composed of a long...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Caloundra Spinal and Sports Medicine Centre, Caloundra, QLD, Australia

    Scott Masters

Authors
  1. Scott Masters
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physiological Institute, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Robert F. Schmidt

  2. Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

    William D. Willis

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Masters, S. (2007). Nutraceuticals. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_2876

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_2876

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29805-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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