Tier 3 — preclinical

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a Krill Oil, Astaxanthin, and Oral Hyaluronic Acid Complex on Joint Health in People with Mild Osteoarthritis

W Stephen Hill, Margaret H Dohnalek, Yejin Ha, Seok-Jung Kim, Jae-Chul Jung, Seung-Baik Kang
Nutrients 2023 15(17):3769

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 37686801
PubMed Central
PMC10490060
DOI
10.3390/nu15173769
Funding
NOVAREX Co., Ltd. funded the study; additional Korean government R&D grants supported the research. Valensa International provided ingredients.
Competing interests
Authors included employees/affiliates of Valensa International and NOVAREX. A correction was published in 2024.

Study snapshot

DesignMulticenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
ModelAdults with mild knee or hip osteoarthritis
Samplen=100 randomized; n=75 per-protocol primary analysis
InterventionFlexPro MD once daily: krill oil 321 mg, astaxanthin 2 mg and sodium hyaluronate 30 mg, versus placebo
Duration12 weeks
EndpointsKorean VAS joint pain; K-WOMAC; Joint function; Adverse events

What the study showed, in plain terms

FlexPro MD improved joint pain and several WOMAC/function outcomes versus placebo in adults with mild OA. However, the capsule combined krill oil, astaxanthin and 30 mg HA, so this is supportive combination evidence rather than proof that HA alone produced the benefit.

Key findings

What this study can and cannot tell us

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology