Published in Wiadomości Lekarskie, a Journal of the Polish Medical Association, improvements in these parameters were observed consistently across the weeks, regardless of gender, and history of osteoarthritis.
Produced by Australian nutraceutical company Max Biocare, Tregocel contains a patented extract of curcuminoids in a phospholipid complex, trademarked as Meriva by Indena, as well as other herb extracts such as Indian frankincense, devil's claw, celery and ginger.
This study, the third of a series of publications is a sub-analysis of a multicenter, open-label, prospective, single-arm study, conducted on 107 subjects with symptomatic mild knee osteoarthritis, where supplementation of Tregocel for 36 weeks was found to reduce pain and improve walking distance in these subjects.
There was a significant improvement in the 6-minute walking test (p<0.001), from about 382m at baseline to 408m at the end of the study. Subjective pain levels also significantly decreased from baseline.
During the study, participants were also allowed to take acetaminophen (paracetamol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There was a decrease in the use of these regular knee osteoarthritis medications from 99.1% at baseline to 55.1% after 36 weeks.
Sub-analysis
In this sub-analysis, researchers wanted to further explore how specific patient factors known to affect knee osteoarthritis such as age, gender and duration of their condition, were associated with the mobility and joint condition outcomes of the trial.
The subjects recruited suffered from knee osteoarthritis for a median of 1.8 years, with the longest at 17.7 years.
Study visits were scheduled at baseline, week 12, 24, 36 and 40 (4-week post-study), which represented quartiles for this sub-analysis.
What was found was that at every quartile, all outcomes were significantly improved with the duration of nutraceutical use.
Dr George Thouas, head of research and development at Max Biocare said the quartiles allow for comparison of mobility outcomes over time, revealing that improvements in distances after the 6-minute walking test were consistent across all quartiles, and that there was a 0.72m increase in distance at every week for 36 weeks.
Gender and osteoarthritis duration did not have any effect on the results, which meant the beneficial effects of Tregocel were present regardless of how long subjects had been suffering from osteoarthritis.
Tregocel use also resulted in significant reductions in pain and stiffness, regardless of gender and osteoarthritis duration.
Thouas explained that the active ingredients in Tregocel have combined antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways, which may help to slow joint degeneration and support recovery after physical activity.
“We think these mechanisms are more complex than what is offered by the prescription medications that were taken concomitantly.”
The results of this subgroup analysis demonstrate that Tregocel given as a dietary supplement in parallel with standard medications for mild knee osteoarthritis can improve joint flexibility, physical functioning and mobility progressively over a 36-week study period.
“This suggest that phytomedicines such as these can be safely and successfully implemented as complementary therapies for osteoarthritis and potentially other forms of joint inflammation.”
Osteoarthritis, especially in the knee and hip affect some 300 million worldwide, and current treatment consists of weight reduction, changing diets, using physical aids (e.g. canes, braces), physical therapies or use of medications such as NSAIDs, corticosteroids, or complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs).
Source: Wiadomosci lekarskie
DOI: 10.36740/WLek202109119
“Improved physical function with complementary use of a dietary supplement for mild knee osteoarthritis: a subgroup analysis”
Authors: Zbigniew Żęgota, et al.