Q: I have heard that rosehip may be helpful for joints (similar to glucosamine) and that added with GOPO (Glycoside of mono and diglycerol) it may have an impact on joints. Is this true? Would this be an alternative to glucosamine?

A: It is thought that the rose hip has both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.  As far I can understand it GOPO is actually the ingredient in rose hips that is thought to be the active ingredient.  You are probably referring to research which was a meta-analysis (combination of results from a number of studies) that compared rosehip with a placebo and found that it reduced pain and discomfort by 40%.  As the research was only comparing rosehip against a placebo it is difficult to know how it would compare against either glucosamine and/or fish oil. 

I have always had good results with patients using a combination of MSM together with glucosamine plus fish oil and also some anti-inflammatory herbs like boswellia and turmeric.  MSM is a sulphur containing compound which helps to maintain healthy connective tissue, keeping the joints flexible and reducing pain and glucosamine stimulates the production of substances needed for the joints to mend and move more easily. 

As we are all different, it will be a case of trial and error to see what combinations of products work best for you.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 1:20 am and is filed under Ask Marilyn - Star Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.