Monitoring equine joint disease and determining the effects of nutraceutical agents, such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN), is difficult to say the least. However, a group of Brazilian researchers recently determined that analyzing urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) could be helpful, especially in mild osteoarthritis (OA) cases.

Raquel Baccarin, DVM, PhD, professor of veterinary medicine at University of Sao Paulo, recently led a two-part study analyzing the urinary excretion of GAGs (polysaccharides abundant in joint cartilage) in both healthy and OA-affected athletic Warmblood horses and evaluating the effects of CS and GlcN on mild equine OA.

“Since glucosamine is a precursor for GAGs … supplemental glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate may help to prevent cartilage degeneration and treat OA,” Baccarin explained.

Researchers analyzed urinary GAGs in 20 healthy horses and 27 horses diagnosed with mild OA. The team found that OA-affected horses excreted more urinary GAGs than their healthy counterparts