HVN1904 MINK Metadata Record - Musseling-up 2.0: Greenshell™ mussels for inflammation, metabolism and muscular skeletal function. The effect of green-shell mussel on joint health in elderly women.

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Description: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of joint disease, contributing to progressive pain and disability in the elderly. In New Zealand, OA is affecting 10.2% of the adult population and the incidence escalating with age, and obesity causing the large health-related quality of life loss in NZ. The prevalence of OA is generally higher in women compared to men, as the incidence tend to consistently increase, particularly following menopause, likely due to losing the protective effect of estrogen on joint tissue. There is no cure for OA and the conventional treatment only used for symptom management. Oil extract from the Greenshell mussel (GSM), a native New Zealand shellfish, has been effective to reduce OA symptoms. A recent animal study showed flash-dried powder from whole GSM meat has preventive effects against the early-stage of metabolic-associated OA. In this study adding GSM powder into the diet of rats actively developing diet-induced OA reduced the cartilage degradation marker. Results from this preliminary study support the potential for an intervention study feeding human subjects with the whole meat GSM powder in order to attenuate the development of OA in a high-risk population. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of flash-dried whole meat GSM powder (3 g/day) or identical placebo for 12 weeks on cartilage and bone biomarkers, inflammation, body composition, health parameters, knee function and joint pain in healthy overweight/obese postmenopausal women.