FortefiX compliments Glucosamine

As you are aware glucosamine and chondroitin may be able to treat your osteoarthritis (OA) and/or joint arthritis. OA is a degenerative condition caused by insufficient regeneration of cartilage in your joints (especially the knees and hips). Cartilage provides a cushion between the joints. As the cartilage degenerate, this cushion cover wears off resulting in bone rubbing against bone and thus causing pain, inflammation and lack of mobility follows.

Glucosamine is an essential compound for joint health, helping to protect the cartilage degeneration in your joints. Glucosamine takes about 4-8 weeks to stabilise this degenerative process and hence your pain subside after 4 to 8 weeks. Often you also need to take pain medications during this period and also during pain flare-ups.

To date the only pain relievers are the paracetamol, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, ketoprofen, diclofenac etc) or steroids (cortisone) injection. These pain killers only provide symptomatic relieve and unpleasant side effects and the disease continues to get worse.FortefiX contains 4 active ingredients to treat your OA and also provide pain relieve. The 4 actives are Boswellic acids, Curcumin, Boron and Resveratrol.

As your cartilage degenerates, the degenerative products/metabolites are highly pro-inflammatory and highly reactive oxidative species (ROS), creating a very hostile environment (synovial fluid or joint fluids) for tissue/cartilage/bone repair. This may be the reason why some people don’t response well to glucosamine unless this hostile environment is nullified by using antioxidants, anti-inflammatory factors etc.

Boswellic acid and curcumin both have strong synergistic anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties They knock-off enzymes that cause degenerative process and then neutralise the destructive metabolites (ROS or free radicals), create an ideal environment for tissue repair. The potent anti-inflammatory properties, help to relieve joint pain, reduce swelling and movement trouble, speed up healing process and the ability to fight inflammation. Reduction in pain and improvement in knee-joint functions is rapid within seven days unlike glucosamine.

Boron may help reduce pain in OA. In addition to preserving bone health, boron helps relieve the debilitating symptoms of osteoarthritis. Studies on daily boron supplement showed less pain from movement. Boron is used as a biochemical (co-factor) to decrease the production of inflammatory mediators. Researchers have examined the relationship between boron intake and osteoarthritis prevalence around the world. Areas where the boron intake is < 1 mg per day, the estimated incidence of arthritis ranges from 20% to 70% whereas where boron intake is usually 3-10 mg per day, the estimated incidence of arthritis is lower, ranging from zero to just 10%.

Resveratrol is shown to suppress the pro-inflammatory factors that cause chronic pain and also reduces pain sensory.

In summary, the four actives in FortefiX Plus reduce inflammation, provide full spectrum antioxidants, provide co-factor in bone health and a rapid analgesia. Importantly, FortifiX Plus provides an ideal environment for cartilage repair hence allowing incorporation of Glucosamine for cartilage repair.

Author: Professor Stephen Lim
Stephen is a certified Pharmacist. He earned his PhD in Pharmacy from Curtin University.