SheaFlex70 Benefits OA

LISMORE, New South Wales, AustraliaResults from an Australian study indicated patients with high levels of osteoarthritis (OA) biomarkers, SheaFlex70, a triterpene-rich extract from the seed of the African shea tree Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn, demonstrated multiple beneficial activities consistent with slowing the disease process (Phytother. Res. 2009) (DOI:10.1002/ptr.3075). The single-site, 15-week randomized, double blind, parallel, placebo-controlled study examined a range of biomarkers in 89 patients with OA of the knees and/or hips to determine potential modes of action of SheaFlex70. In the group of participants with levels of OA biomarkers in the upper quartile at baseline, there were significant decreases in inflammation and cartilage breakdown and trend level decreases in bone remodeling in the SheaFlex70 group versus placebo between commencement and completion of the study. Inflammation marker TNF-alpha fell 23.9 percent in the treatment group versus 6 percent in the placebo group.Cartilage degradation marker CTX-II fell 28.7 percent (treatment) versus an increase of 17.6 percent in the placebo group. This marker also showed significant falls across the entire study group, 10.6 percent (treatment) versus an increase of 11.6 percent (placebo). Osteocalcin levels fell 9.2 percent (treatment) versus 1.2 percent (placebo).