• 236ml £26.62 u.k. carriage paid
• 946ml £72.50 u.k. carriage paid
• 60 x 200mg capsules £26.62 uk carriage paid
• 120gm powder £49.99 uk carriage paid

The ends of the bones in a joint are covered with cartilage, a slippery, resilient tissue. It protects the joint, promotes smooth bone movement and absorbs shock during motion. It is amazing that such a vital structure is so thin and easily damaged, resulting in pain and reduced joint mobility. A new breed of products which contain, in varying degrees, Chondroitin Sulphate (CS) and / or Glucosamine Sulphate (GS) also Methylsulphonylmethane (M.S.M.) has now spawned, both in the human and pet care market. These substances are totally natural and are constituents of connective tissues.

The tissues in the joints require the correct stimuli to produce CS and GS, these are not always readily available in the body thus supplementation is warranted.

The wear and tear on joint tissue provides the seeds of inflammation, the process by which the body cleans up and repairs all forms of cell damage. Eventually, chronic arthritis perpetuates itself in ever-worsening inflammation in affected joints. The soreness felt, a combination of actual damage, pressure from extra inflammatory fluids and heightened pain awareness from additional chemical mediators, does lead the afflicted joint being rested to allow healing. However some chemicals associated with inflammation – the fatty acids, the atom snatching oxygen molecules called "free radicals" and the hormone prostaglandin – can, in concentration, do harm as well as good, prolonging and enlarging the inflammatory process.

CS is an essential element of structural cartilage and acts as a "liquid magnet" drawing fluid into the cartilage and maintaining it shock absorbing properties, it stimulates cartilage and tendon cells, maintaining health and inhibits the activity of destructive enzymes thus preventing further damage and contributing to repair. GS stimulates cartilage to produce higher quality joint fluid and assists in the lubrication of tendon sheaths.

Clinical studies have shown that the best results have been achieved when CS and GS are used in combination. It has been suggested that, in particular, the CS molecule cannot be easily absorbed into the body tissues. To some extent this is true, when fed orally the vast majority of CS and GS is broken down and lost in the liver thus not reaching the joints at all. Simply feeding higher amounts of CS and GS will have some benefit but only at a price! One product on the market (Cortaflex, from Equine America) is unique because it contains the key nutrients of CS and GS and it is these smaller molecular sized amino-acid and amino-sugar isolates that are readily absorbed and reach the joints in high concentrations, passage through cell walls is assisted by Methylsulphonylmethane (M.S.M.). Cortaflex from Equine America, therefore, provides both the stimulus and the building blocks for joint tissue repair and has achieved a metabolic breakthrough in improving joint function.

Cortaflex from Equine America is available in formulations for horses, dogs, cats and humans. It has also been used in some of our leading zoos to treat their more unusual inhabitants – including elephants!