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

Abstract

Objectives: 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).

Methodology: 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 of 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.