Update on the role of pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate in the symptomatic management of knee osteoarthritis 

Pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate (CS) was repeatedly reported to reduce pain and improve function in patients with knee OA. The most recent meta-analysis shows that only the pharmaceutical-grade CS may be considered as an appropriate background treatment for the management of knee OA. Evidence from another recent meta-analysis, using data from full safety reports, confirms the good safety profile of CS in OA. This new evidence on efficacy and safety suggests that recommendations for the use of CS in patients with knee OA cannot be extrapolated to other low-grade preparations such as generics, nutraceutical-grade or over-the-counter preparations. 

References:

Honvo G, Bruyère O, Reginster JY. Update on the role of pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate in the symptomatic management of knee osteoarthritis. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2019;31(8):1163-1167. doi:10.1007/s40520-019-01253-z https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6661017/