Fewstudieshaveexaminedtheefficacyofglucosamineandchondroitinsulfatesupplementsinhorses.Thepurposeofthisstudyistodetermineifthecommerciallyavailablesupplementsaremeetingthelabelguarantees,andtoanalyzeanycorrelationbetweenpricepointandefficacyofuse.Thesupplementalingredientsofinteresttothisstudyarecombinationsofglucosamineandchondroitinsulfate.Horsesinthestudywillbefedeachsupplementfora14-dayperiod,withsynovialfluidextractedthroughasepticarthrocentesisatdays0and14.Enzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassayswillbeusedtoquantifytheamountsofhyaluronicacidandchondroitinsulfateineachsample.Fluorophoreassistedcarbohydrateelectrophoresiswillbeemployedforquantificationofglucosamine.Methods
Twelvehorseswillbefedsupplementsaccordingtoproductrecommendationsandmonitoredfora14-dayperiod.Priortoeachfeedingperiod,thesoundnessofeachhorsewillbedocumentedwithastandardlamenessevaluationatthewalkandthetrotinadditiontoflexiontestsofeachleg.Serumandsynovialfluidwillbecollectedforfurtheranalysis.Attheendofthe14-dayfeedingperiod,soundnesswillagainbeevaluatedandserumandsynovialfluidsamplescollected.Three14-dayfeedingrotationswith28-dayintervalsbetweenwillalloweachofthe12horsestobeevaluatedafterconsumingeachofthethreesupplements.Thesynovialfluidwillbeextractedbyalicensedveterinarianusingsurgicalpreparatorysterilizationtechniques.Synovialfluidwillbeextractedfromtheleftfetlockjoint.Ifthesufficientquantitiesoffluidcannotbeextractedfromthatspecificjoint,orsamplecontaminationoccurs,thenfluidfromtherightfetlock,thelefttibial-tarsaljoint,andtherighttibial-tarsaljointinthatspecificorderwillextractedbasedonquantityobtainedfromeachjointandanycontaminationofthesample.Sedatives
willbeusedonanindividualbasis.Thesampleswillbeanalyzedusingfluorophore-assistedcarbohydrateelectrophoresis(FACE)forglucosamineandenzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassays(ELISA)forthehyaluronicacidandchondroitinsulfate.
Efficacy of Equine Oral Joint Supplements Erika M. Wooten J.M. Mehaffey, Sarah Canterberry, Derek Grant, Stacie Appleton, Leon Young
ErikaWootenispursuingaMasterofScienceinAgricultureatStephenF.AustinStateUniversity.ShereceivedherBachelorofScienceinAnimalSciencefromStephenF.AustinStateUniversity.
