JP2002154968A - Composition for preventing or curing arthritis, or for improving symptom of arthritis - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a composition having such an excellent properties that it can improve a symptom such as pain or swelling due to arthritis, or recover motor function in an extremely short time by oral administration. SOLUTION: The composition contains chondroitin or its salt, glucosamine or its salt, and seal oil, and it is useful for preventing or curing arthritis, or for improving the symptom of arthritis. The composition is used as a food and drink, or an animal feed as it is or by adding it to a known raw material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a composition for preventing or treating arthropathy or improving symptoms.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis, whose morbidity increases with age, is a major factor that impairs the daily exercise of the elderly and degrades their quality of life. World Health Organization report (Fifty Facts from the Wor
According to the ld Health Report 1997, WHO), more than 40% of people over 70 have knee osteoarthritis, and approximately 80% of patients with osteoarthritis have some kind of restricted movement. , 25% of patients say they have significant difficulty in their daily activities.

In Japan, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in fiscal 1996, the total number of people treated for arthropathy was about 800,000. It is estimated that more than people. Also, according to national estimates, by 2025 one in four people will be occupied by persons 65 years of age or older, and at that time the potential number of patients with arthrosis will reach 10 million. As expected, it is a major social problem.

[0004] Conventionally, the treatment of arthropathy is mainly pharmacotherapy, administration of analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and intra-articular injection of steroids and hyaluronic acid. Other treatments include surgical treatment, hyperthermia, and the use of assistive devices, all of which are considered to be less than the fundamental treatments, because they only reduce or slow the progression of arthropathy.

[0005] In order to solve this problem, many studies have been made on pharmacological components that are effective in preventing and treating osteoarthritis. Oral administration of glucosamine sulfate or chondroitin sulfate causes symptoms such as joint pain. Many clinical cases have been reported, such as relief of cartilage and repair of cartilage tissue. As an example of the administration test using glucosamine sulfate alone, Drovanti et al. Reported that symptoms of arthropathy patients improved in about 30 days (Clinical Therapeutics, V
ol. 3, No. 4, 260-272 (1980)), and Vaz et al. also reported that symptoms improved significantly in about 8 weeks (Curr. Med. Res. Opin. Vol.8, No.3, 145-149
(1982)).

[0006] On the other hand, as an example of an administration test using chondroitin sulfate alone, Oliviero et al. Report that symptoms such as pain and exercise ability were improved by administration to arthropathy patients for 6 months (Drugs). Exptl. Clin. Res., Vol. 17, N
o.1, 45-51 (1991)), Mazieres et al. also reported that symptoms improved after 3 months of administration (Rev. Rhu
m. Mal. Osteoartic., Vol. 59, No. 7-8, 466-472 (199
2)).

Further, as a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin, US Pat. No. 4,473,551 discloses an anti-inflammatory composition comprising a combination of cartilage extract containing chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, and Japanese Patent No. 2971579. The invention of a composition or the like for treating arthritis, which combines the glucosamine and chondroitin described above, is disclosed. However, US Pat.
The example of JP-A No. 1 describes that the inflammation was suppressed by applying a mixture of cartilage extract containing chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine to guinea pig skin. Is not shown at all. Also, in the examples of Japanese Patent No. 2971579, it is described that a mixture of glucosamine and chondroitin was orally administered to various animals suffering from arthritis, and improvement of symptoms was observed in about 2 weeks. No specific findings for humans are given.

[0008] As an example of applying a component other than glucosamine and chondroitin to improve symptoms of arthritis, there is a report that oral administration of fish oil to a patient with chronic rheumatism was effective. Kremer and colleagues reported that rheumatoid arthritis patients received fish oil daily and improved arthritis symptoms including a decrease in the number of painful joints in 16 weeks (Ann. Int. Me
d., Vol. 106, 497-503 (1987)). Also, Sperli
ng et al. also reported that symptoms improved in 6 weeks (see Arthritis Rheum., Vol. 30, No. 9, 988-997 (1987)).

[0009] As described above, although the administration of glucosamine sulfate or chondroitin sulfate alone can improve various symptoms of osteoarthritis in humans, it takes only one period.
The effect of administering glucosamine and chondroitin in combination is reported to improve the symptoms of arthritis in animals in about two weeks, but the effect on humans is clear. It is not at present. Furthermore, even when fish oil is administered, the improvement of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis patients still requires a long period of 6 to 16 weeks, and no improvement in the symptoms of osteoarthritis has been reported. .

[0010]

The arthropathy is a disease that causes patients to live and sit down and suffers from constant pain. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a drug that can alleviate and cure the symptoms promptly after the onset and onset of the disease. The eyebrows have become steep. In view of these circumstances, the present invention can improve the symptoms of arthritis in a shorter period of time than when glucosamine and chondroitin are administered alone, or when both are used in combination, in preventing or treating arthropathy or improving symptoms. It is intended to provide an effective composition.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies to achieve this object, the inventor of the present invention has found that glucosamine and chondroitin have been experimentally examined for the combined effect of glucosamine and chondroitin on humans. In addition, they have found that the use of seal oil can improve the symptoms of arthritis in a shorter period of time than when glucosamine and chondroitin are administered alone or in combination, and the present invention has been completed. That is, the present invention is a composition for preventing or treating arthropathy or improving symptoms, comprising chondroitin or a salt thereof, glucosamine or a salt thereof, and seal oil.

[0012] Chondroitin is contained abundantly in cartilage tissues of animals, and most of it is present in vivo as chondroitin sulfate in a state of being bound to proteoglycan.
Glucosamine is a chitin constituent that is a main component of shells such as crabs and shrimps, and can be obtained by deacetylating chitin to chitosan and then hydrolyzing it. In addition, seal oil is characterized by being rich in ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, and rich in DPA which is the same ω3 fatty acid but is low in general fish oil. By simultaneously taking these chondroitin or its salt, glucosamine or its salt and seal oil, it becomes possible to improve the symptoms of arthritis in a short period of time.

The chondroitin used in the present invention may be of any origin, but is preferably contained in cartilage components such as sharks and cattle. The structure of chondroitin may be tetrasulfuric acid or hexasulfuric acid, and its sulfate moiety may be free or salt. Further, it may be a chondroitin protein complex bound to proteoglycan or free chondroitin, but a protein complex originally present in the cartilage component is desirable.

The source of glucosamine also does not matter, but preferably glucosamine is produced from chitin contained in shells such as crab and shrimp. Glucosamine may be in a free form or in a salt form, and the kind of the salt form is not particularly limited, but it is generally preferable to use a stable hydrochloride or sulfate. Further, the type of seal oil is not limited, and a harp seal (scientific name: Phoca groenl
An oil such as andica) may be used, but it is particularly preferable to use a seal oil having a fatty acid composition in which the ratio of DPA to the ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid is 10% or more.

By ingesting a composition containing chondroitin or a salt thereof, glucosamine or a salt thereof and seal oil produced from these raw materials, chondroitin (or a salt thereof) alone or glucosamine (or a salt thereof) is consumed.
The symptoms of arthropathy can be improved in a shorter time than when taken alone or in combination.

[0016]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples and composition examples for comparison, together with tests relating to these effects and the results thereof. The present invention is not limited by these examples.

[0017]

Example 1 Shark cartilage-derived chondroitin protein complex (chondroitin SCP for food, manufactured by Maruha Corporation) 50
0 mg, 500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride derived from crab shell (natural glucosamine, manufactured by Yaizu Fisheries Chemical Co., Ltd.)
Seal oil from Atlantis M
arine Inc. [St. John's, NF, Canada]) 2g paste (sample A) and, for comparison, paste using commercial salad oil instead of seal oil (sample B)
Were prepared. Further, for comparison, a powder (sample C) containing 500 mg of chondroitin protein complex and 500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride, to which no fat or oil was added, was also prepared.

Three male and 12 female volunteers with knee osteoarthritis of an average age of 71 years old were
Samples A and B prepared by the above method were divided into three groups of four women each, and each group was divided into two groups each of 3 g,
The remaining group was ingested 1 g of the sample C every day, all three times a day, and after each meal, for 1 week. Before and after the start of the test, the subject's symptoms related to pain without moving the knee, light pressure on the finger, and pain when moving the knee were significantly painful: 2, slightly painful: 1.
Painless: Classified by a three-point pain score of 0. Table 1 shows the average value of the pain score in each administration group before and after the test.

[0019]

[Table 1]

As a result of the one-week test, there was a slight improvement in pain symptoms in the groups administered with B (chondroitin + glucosamine + commercial salad oil) and C (chondroitin + glucosamine). In the group administered with A (chondroitin + glucosamine + seal oil), the rate of reduction in the symptoms of pain was greater than that in group A. A similar test was conducted with seal oil alone (2 g / day), but the effect of improving the pain symptoms of arthritis was not found in seal oil itself. That is, the excellent symptom improving effect of A suggests that seal oil works synergistically in addition to the arthritic symptom improving effect of chondroitin and glucosamine. From the above results, it was confirmed that by taking the composition containing chondroitin, glucosamine and seal oil of the present invention, pain symptoms of arthritis can be improved in a short period of one week.

[0021]

Example 2 Bovine cartilage-derived chondroitin protein complex (chondroitin 20FF, manufactured by Nippon Biocon Co., Ltd.)
500 mg, glucosamine hydrochloride derived from crab shell (Koyo Glucosamine, manufactured by Koyo Chemical Co., Ltd.) 500 m
g, seal oil derived from harp seals (Atlantis Mar
A soft gelatin capsule (sample A) having a mixture of 2 g of ine Inc. [St. John's, NF, Canada]) and 200 mg of beeswax was prepared. For comparison, capsules using fish oil instead of seal oil (sample B) and capsules using commercially available salad oil (sample C) were also prepared. The content of the capsule is 320
mg. Table 2 shows the fatty acid composition of seal oil, fish oil, and commercially available salad oil used for capsule preparation.

[0022]

[Table 2]

The volunteers of 6 males and 12 females suffering from osteoarthritis from the age of 59 to 81 years old were divided into three groups of two males and four females. In each group, 10 tablets were taken three times a day, and each meal was taken for one week. Before the start of the test and after the end of the test, in addition to the evaluation of the pain score of Example 1, the swelling of the knee is considerably swollen: 2, slightly swollen:
1. No swelling: Classified by a three-stage swelling score of 0.
Further, the time required for walking 10 m and the time required for climbing up and down 10 stairs were measured. Table 3 shows the average value of the score and time in each administration group before and after the test.

[0024]

[Table 3]

As a result of the one-week test, pain and swelling tended to be slightly improved in the group administered with B (chondroitin + glucosamine + fish oil) and the group administered with C (chondroitin + glucosamine + commercial salad oil). , 10
No change was observed in the time required for walking m and climbing the stairs. In contrast, in the A (chondroitin + glucosamine + seal oil) administration group, not only the symptoms of pain and swelling were significantly improved, but also the time required for 10 m walking and climbing up and down stairs was significantly reduced. That is, by ingesting the composition containing chondroitin, glucosamine and seal oil of the present invention, not only the pain of arthritis but also the symptoms of swelling are improved and the motor function is restored in a short period of one week. It was confirmed that it was possible.

It is known that oral ingestion of EPA and DHA contained in fish oil has an effect of improving the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis patients, but it requires a large amount of intake and the time required for improvement of the symptoms. Also for a long time. As a clinical example for rheumatoid arthritis patients, EPA 2.8 g / day, 16 weeks (Kremer JM et al., Ann. Int. Med., Vol. 106, 497)
-503 (1987)), fish oil 20g / day, 6 weeks (Sper
ling RJet al, Arthritis Rheum., Vol. 30, No. 9, 988
-997 (1987)), or DHA 2.2 g + EP
A3.2 g / day for 24 weeks (Kremer JM et al., Arthr
itis Rheum., Vol. 33, No. 6, 810-820 (1990))
It has been reported that the number of painful joints decreased with the administration of. In comparison, the dose of fish oil in the B-administered group of Example 2 was as low as 2 g (about 0.2 g for both DHA and EPA) / day, and the test period was as short as one week. This is considered to be the reason that no significant improvement effect was observed in the B administration group. On the other hand, despite the fact that the fatty acid compositions of seal oil and fish oil are very similar, one of the reasons that the effect was observed only in the group to which sample A containing seal oil was administered was due to the difference in DPA content (ω3 The ratio of DPA to the system polyunsaturated fatty acid is seal oil: 14.8
%, Fish oil: 2.2%, commercial salad oil: 0%).

[0027]

The chondroitin of the present invention or a salt thereof,
The composition characterized by containing glucosamine or a salt thereof and seal oil can improve symptoms such as pain and swelling of arthrosis in a very short period of time by oral ingestion, and also restore motor function. It has excellent properties that can be. The composition can be taken as it is, of course, it can be added to known raw materials to produce a food.By ingesting the food, it is possible to prevent arthropathy in daily life without difficulty or improve symptoms. You can do it. Furthermore, it can be used for prevention of arthropathy and improvement of symptoms by blending it in animal feed. That is, the composition of the present invention can be a very effective food material for arthropathy, prevention or treatment or improvement of symptoms in various animals as well as humans.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A composition for preventing or treating arthropathy or improving symptoms, comprising chondroitin or a salt thereof, glucosamine or a salt thereof, and seal oil. 2. The composition according to claim 1, wherein chondroitin or a salt thereof is a protein complex bound to proteoglycan. 3. A single dose range of chondroitin or a salt thereof is 100 to 1,000 mg, glucosamine or a salt thereof is 100 to 1,000 mg, and seal oil is 10 to 1,000 mg.
The composition according to claim 1, which is 0 to 5,000 mg.