Transdermal Glucosamine
Pharmacokinetic studies with transdermal glucosamine were conducted in mice in accordance with GLP guidelines. After administration of transdermal glucosamine, maximum plasma concentrations and exposures were observed to be higher than those after oral administration. Likewise, bioavailability of transdermal glucosamine was shown to be high, and the glucosamine was shown to be rapidly and well absorbed, with peak plasma concentration occurring within 2 hours; the half-life of elimination of transdermal glucosamine was about 4 hours. TGC (one version containing 10% w/w glucosamine sulphate salt and another containing 5% w/w glucosamine sulphate salt) is able to increase blood glucosamine concentration significantly (p < 0.01) by greater than 15 folds compared to oral dose of same amount (0.4 g/kg of body weight) in mice. Furthermore, blood glucosamine level could be sustained at a very significant level for up to 7 hrs post-treatment.
Similar transdermal glucosamine profiles were observed with human volunteers (given a single dose of 1.0 g glucosamine sulphate salt). Plasma glucosamine concentration remained relatively high for up to 8 hours post treatment. This provides a good and constant source of glucosamine that could be beneficial to patients suffering from osteoarthritis, as glucosamine is needed in the synthesis of chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid, and these two compounds are depleted in osteoarthritis condition.
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