Extracts of citrus and tree bark may benefit people with osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.
Osteoarthritis usually occurs in people over the age of 50 and an estimated one in ten over-65s have a major disability due to the joint disease.
Researchers at the Universities of Mississippi and of Yaounde I in Cameroon have now found that osteoarthritis patients who took supplements containing tree bark and citrus extracts lost an average of five per cent of body weight after eight weeks.
They also experienced significant reductions in LDL, or 'bad' cholesterol, and increases in HDL, or 'good' cholesterol.
The findings are published in Nutrition Journal and the researchers concluded that the supplements offered "several potential health benefits in normal and overweight subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee".
"These potential benefits include significant improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, namely lipid levels and blood pressure. Treatment-induced weight loss was also observed."
People with osteoarthritis may also benefit from taking supplements of glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate.
Extracts of citrus and tree bark may benefit people with osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.
