Glucosamine
Of 1,723 on-market glucosamine products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 1,000 mg, and 67.8% list Glucosamine Sulfate as the primary form.
Form share
Of 1,601 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Glucosamine on the market today.
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| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glucosamine Sulfate | Tier 1 | 1,085 | 67.8% |
| Glucosamine HCl (Hydrochloride) | Tier 2 | 378 | 23.6% |
| Glucosamine Sulfate 2KCl | Tier 2 | 138 | 8.6% |
Forms we recognize but found no primary-form products for in this release: N-Acetylglucosamine (NAG).
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (mg), among 1,561 products with a disclosed amount.
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- 9.4% of products fall below the fairy-dust threshold (300 mg, 20% of the studied low dose).
- 9.2% of products don't disclose an amount because Glucosamine is declared inside a proprietary blend.
Where does your dose rank?
Enter a per-serving dose (mg) to see exactly how it compares to the 1,561 on-market glucosamine products with a disclosed amount. The chart above groups doses into deciles; this looks up the exact percentile for one number.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
Search interest over time
How often people search for glucosamine on Google, US only, the last 5 years. This is public interest, not DSLD label data — a spike here doesn't necessarily line up with anything on this page, and Google's own index (100 = that term's peak popularity in the chosen window) is relative, not an absolute search-volume count.
Or see this search directly on trends.google.com.
Forms explained
The positive long-term European RCTs showing both symptomatic AND structural (joint-space) benefit used glucosamine sulfate specifically (largely a particular pharmaceutical-grade "Rotta" preparation); a 2005 Cochrane review found benefit mainly in trials of the Rotta preparation, whereas non-Rotta preparations and trials with adequate allocation concealment showed no significant benefit.
Source: Reginster JY et al. 2001, Lancet 357(9252):251-256; Pavelka K et al. 2002, Arch Intern Med 162(18):2113-2123; Towheed TE et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2005;(2):CD002946, PMID 15846645
The largest single trial (GAIT, NIH-funded, n>1,500) used glucosamine HCl and found NO significant overall benefit vs placebo -- weaker/more mixed evidence than sulfate for whole-population efficacy, though one Chinese multi-center RCT found HCl and sulfate equally effective head-to-head; the gap is debated, not settled.
Source: Clegg DO et al. 2006, NEJM 354(8):795-808 (GAIT); Qiu GX et al. 2005, Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 85(43):3067-3070
A stabilized glucosamine sulfate salt (plain glucosamine sulfate is hygroscopic and needs a stabilizing counter-ion -- historically NaCl in the "Rotta" preparation used in the positive European trials; 2KCl is a common commercial alternative). Evidence for sulfate broadly may reasonably extend here, but no dedicated head-to-head RCT of the 2KCl salt specifically was found -- equivalence is an assumption, not a demonstrated fact.
Source: none (no dedicated RCT of the 2KCl salt identified)
Structurally and functionally distinct from glucosamine sulfate/HCl (an acetylated derivative used differently, e.g. in gut-health/IBD research) -- its joint-health evidence base is separate and much smaller and should NOT inherit the sulfate/HCl osteoarthritis evidence.
Source: none (definitional; a separate, smaller joint-health evidence base)
Reference values
- RDA (adult): not established — Amino sugar, not an essential nutrient; no DRI exists.
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): not established — Not established. NCCIH: no safety problems identified in large studies; cautions are possible increases in blood glucose and an increased bleeding risk with warfarin, rather than a dose ceiling (a shellfish-allergy concern is theoretical and is not stated by NCCIH).
- Studied clinical dose range: 1500–1500 mg
- Clegg DO et al. 2006 (GAIT trial), NEJM 354(8):795-808 -- NIH-funded RCT (n>1,500), glucosamine HCl 1500mg/day (divided); no significant overall knee-pain reduction vs placebo, possible benefit in a moderate-to-severe-pain subgroup with glucosamine+ chondroitin combined. Contrast: Reginster JY et al. 2001, Lancet 357(9252):251-256, and Pavelka K et al. 2002, Arch Intern Med 162(18):2113-2123 -- both used glucosamine SULFATE 1500mg/day once-daily x3yr and found significant symptomatic AND structural (joint-space) benefit vs placebo.
- Note: 1500mg/day is essentially both the studied low and high end -- trials did not generally test other doses; this is a real feature of the evidence base, not a gap in this file. The sulfate-vs-HCl efficacy gap (see forms.yaml) is a genuine, debated clinical distinction, not just a bioavailability footnote.