Development of glucosamine-containing functional foods for improving locomotive syndrome

Abstract

The number of elderly people aged 65 years and older has been increasing worldwide, and the aging of the population is particularly rapid in Japan. In 2007, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA) proposed the concept of “locomotive syndrome (Locomo),” which refers to the conditions under which people require or may soon require nursing-care services because of problems with the locomotor organs (muscle, joints and bones). As a result, there has been increasing interest in preventing "locomo" by improving lifestyle, mainly eating habits and/or exercise habits.

And with the launch the system of "Foods with function Claims", the development of foods with health claims based on scientific evidences have attracted attention. We are focusing on research of aging in locomotor organs (muscle, joints and bones). In particular, we focus on obtaining evidences of the effectiveness of glucosamine-containing foods in humans. In this article, we would like to introduce the foods containing glucosamine with functional claim focusing on knee joint function and walking speed.