Nutraceutical / supplement

Glucosamine

Brand names: Alateris

Glucosamine is a supplement marketed for symptomatic relief of osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee.

Not a dosed medicine

Use as directed by the product's instructions, and check your local formulary.

Clinical monograph

How it works

It is a naturally occurring amino sugar involved in cartilage matrix synthesis, though its precise clinical mechanism in osteoarthritis is not fully established.

Prescribing in practice

Evidence for clinically meaningful benefit is limited and inconsistent, and NICE does not recommend it for osteoarthritis management.
Some products are derived from shellfish, so caution is advised in patients with shellfish allergy.
It may theoretically interact with anticoagulants, so review patients on warfarin.

Monitoring

No specific monitoring is required, but review symptomatic response and discontinue if no benefit is observed.

Counselling the patient

This is a supplement and may not improve your joint symptoms.
Check the product source if you have a shellfish allergy.
Tell your clinician you are taking it if you are on blood-thinning medication.

Evidence & guidelines

NICE guidance on osteoarthritis does not recommend glucosamine because evidence of benefit is insufficient.

Reference: NICE NG226 (osteoarthritis); Drug verified in RxNorm (NLM); confirm dosing against the manufacturer SPC (eMC). Verify against your local formulary and current prescribing references before prescribing. Monograph status: clinician-reviewed (2026-07-04).

Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.

Pathways