Comparative Study Between The Clinical Effects of Glucosamine/Gingko Biloba & Glucosamine/Chondroitin in Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Abstract:
Aim: This study was designed to investigate the effect of two widely used combinations,
glucosamine/chondroitin and glucosamine/ginkgo biloba on the clinical picture of patient with
osteoarthritis(OA).
Methods: Fifty one (51) osteoarthritis patients ( 21 male and 30 female) were participated in this research
depending on certain selection criteria. The selected patient were randomly allocated into two groups: group
A includes 22 ( 9 male and 13 female) patients treated with a combination of glucosamine /gingko biloba
( 500/ 50 mg twice daily ) for six weeks whereas group B includes 29 (12 male and 17 female) patients
treated with a combination of glucosamine/chondroitin (500/ 400mg twice daily ) for six weeks . Effects of
drug treatment were assessed each seven days by clinical evaluation and direct interview with patients
through a questionnaire method known as Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS).
Results: It was found that all components of KOOS including pain score, symptoms score, activity of daily
living (ADL), quality of life (QOL) and sport & recreation scores were significantly elevated (improved) in
both combinations, however, glucosamine /gingko biloba showed a better improvement when statistically
compared with the combination of glucosamine/chondroitin.
Conclusions: It is concluded from this study that the glucosamine sulfate is more clinically useful for OA
when combined with gingko biloba than when it is combined with chondroitin.
Recommendations: A large scale cohort study is recommended to ensure the clinical findings.
Key words: Osteoarthritis, Glucosamine sulfate, Chondroitin sulfate, Gingko biloba, Knee joint and
osteoarthritis outcome score