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This section provides an overview for glucosamine as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 9 glucosamine manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked glucosamine companies as of December, 2024: 1.Pharmavit, 2.Lifecare Neuro Products Limited, 3.Ethical Naturals, Inc..
Table of Contents
Glucosamine is an organic compound classified as a monosaccharide.
It is classified as an amino sugar among monosaccharides because the hydroxyl group on the second carbon of glucose is replaced by an amino group. Its chemical formula is C6H13NO5 and its CAS registration number is 3416-24-8.
Its molecular weight is 179.17, melting point 150°C, density 1.563 g/mL, and acid dissociation constant pKa 7.5. Glucosamine hydrochloride, which is produced in isolation, has the appearance of white crystals or a crystalline powder.
The hydrochloride is soluble in water and insoluble in ethanol and acetone. The CAS registration number for the hydrochloride is 66-84-2.
Glucosamine is one of the major components of articular cartilage. Since it is known that the amount of glucosamine produced decreases with age, it has been widely used in supplements in recent years.
In nature, it is known to exist in large amounts as a major component of chitin in crabs and shrimps. When taken as a supplement or in foods, it is said that taking it together with chondroitin, which is also a major component of cartilage, can better prevent wear and tear of knee cartilage.
For this reason, many products contain both chondroitin and glucosamine. In addition, reagent products for research and development are often used to study physiological effects.
Glucosamine is obtained by hydrolysis of chitin (a polysaccharide macromolecule). In industrial production, chitin is extracted from shrimp and crab shells.
Glucosamine is a substance that is commercialized in the form of hydrochloric acid salts after hydrolyzing these chitins with hydrochloric acid in order to crystallize them.
Glucosamine is widely available to the public in the market as a dietary supplement and functional food. It is sold by various manufacturers and comes in a variety of forms, including capsules, tablets, and drinks.
In addition to those commercialized as stand-alone products, there are also a variety of products mixed with chondroitin, collagen, proteoglycans, and so on. It is also manufactured and sold as an industrial raw material for the production of these health foods.
In academic fields such as chemistry and biochemistry, they are also sold as reagents for research and development. In the case of reagent products, they are usually offered as D-glucosamine hydrochloride.
This reagent product can be handled at room temperature. It is available in 10 mg, 25 g, 100 g, 500 g, and 1 kg volumes, making it easy to handle in the laboratory.
Biochemically, D-glucosamine is the biochemical precursor of all nitrogen-containing sugars. It is synthesized in the metabolic pathway in the form of Glucosamine-6-phosphate.
Specifically, glucosamine-6-phosphate is synthesized from fructose-6-phosphate and glutamine by glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase. This is the first step in the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway.
The end product of this biosynthetic pathway is uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc), which is used to synthesize glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans and glycolipids. It is a raw material for the production of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and various other components.
Studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of supplements containing glucosamine, either alone or in combination with other drugs, in osteoarthritis, a condition that destroys the cartilage in joints. The major studies of glucosamine for knee osteoarthritis have had conflicting results, with some showing evidence of improvement and others showing no significant improvement.
Whether glucosamine is effective for knee osteoarthritis pain and whether it reduces osteoarthritis pain in other joints is controversial, and no definitive conclusions have yet been reached.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Kanto Chemical Co. Inc., founded in 1944 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a reagent manufacturer with overseas affiliates in other countries, including China, France, USA, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Its product portfolio includes analytical reagents, ionic liquids, Iodine compounds, ultra-pure chemicals, and water analysis kits. The company is also developing regenerative medicine and genetics reagents and has over 50,000 products. It has several certifications, including ISO 9001, acquired in 1994, making it the first Japanese company in the reagent industry. Other certifications are ISO 14001, ISO 13485, and ISO/IEC 17025.
Kishida Chemical Co. Ltd., established in 1924 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan, is a manufacturer of reagents and high-purity chemicals and also does drug discovery support activities. Its product portfolio includes fine chemicals, research chemicals, ionic liquid, organic micro-analytical reagents, and chemical reagents for analysis. The products support several industries, including reagent business, battery material, drug discovery, and life science. The company is ISO 14001 certified and supplies several companies worldwide, including Meterion Advanced Chemicals Inc., Acros Organics, ChemBridge Corporation, Decon Laboratories, and InerBioScreen Ltd.
Supplement Factory Ltd was established in 2011 in Ashford, England, and is a manufacturer of private-label supplements such as tablets, duo caps, gummy supplements, and capsules for these industries: health and lifestyle, wellness, sports nutrition, and beauty. The company manufactures toothpaste tablets, whole protein, capsule shells, blister packs, and antioxidant gummies from ingredients such as activated charcoal, evening primrose oil, coconut water, ginkgo biloba, and glucomannan konjac. It is BRCS Food Safety, Halal, and NSF certified.
Millipore Sigma, formerly known as Sigma-Aldrich, was created in 175 through the merger of Sigma Chemical Company and Aldrich Chemical company and today is a subsidiary of Merck. Millipore Sigma is a life science and biotechnology company serving the industry with several products and services. Some of their product categories include peptide synthesis materials, biochemicals, building blocks, catalysts, chemical biology, chemical synthesis, flavors & fragrances, formulation, lab chemicals, lab safety, APIs, and stable isotopes. Services include characterization, contract manufacturing, custom products, software, support, testing, and mRNA development & manufacturing.
Nacalai Tesque Inc., founded in 1846 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, is a manufacturer of research chemicals, fine chemicals, diagnostics, and the related instruments. Some of its products include cytokines, nucleic acid electrophoresis, cell dissociation reagents, and sialic acid-related products, and it also offers custom and bulk service for bulk reagents and cell culture media. The company has more than 50 domestic distributors and several worldwide, including Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, Europe, and Africa. It is ISO 9001 and ISO 9002 certified, while the Kyoto South brand and Tesque factory are ISO 14001 certified.
Ranking as of December 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pharmavit |
22.8%
|
| 2 | Lifecare Neuro Products Limited |
16.8%
|
| 3 | Ethical Naturals, Inc. |
15.8%
|
| 4 | Supplement Factory Ltd |
8.9%
|
| 5 | Bioiberica S.A.U. |
7.9%
|
| 6 | KANTO CHEMICAL CO.,INC. |
7.9%
|
| 7 | Kishida Chemical Co.,Ltd. |
6.9%
|
| 8 | nacalai |
6.9%
|
| 9 | MilliporeSigma |
5.9%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the glucosamine page as of December 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
Japan
|
3 | 37.5% |
United States of America
|
1 | 12.5% |
|
United Kingdom
|
1 | 12.5% |
Spain
|
1 | 12.5% |
Netherlands
|
1 | 12.5% |
India
|
1 | 12.5% |
