The Beneficial Effects of Eggshell Membrane Supplementation on Knee Osteoarthritis

by | Sep 20, 2024 | 2024, Arthritis, Joint Health, Proteins, Recent Articles

Written by Harold Oster, MD. Results suggest that supplementation with eggshell membrane is associated with improvement in the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

Protein - eggsOsteoarthritis affects more than two hundred million people worldwide. It destroys cartilage and bone, leading to pain, stiffness, and loss of function. Nearly 30% of individuals older than forty-five have evidence of knee osteoarthritis1.Eggshell membrane (ESM) is composed of many of the same proteins present in healthy joints, including collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid. ESM has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may have beneficial effects on bone mineralization and osteoarthritis2,3.

Ana María García-Muñoz et al. investigated the potential benefits of eggshell membrane supplementation in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies that compared ESM supplementation with a placebo or no intervention. Pain, stiffness, and function were assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)4. Pain was also assessed with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)5, the Numeric Rating Scale for Pain (NRS-P)6, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)7. For statistical purposes, the NRS-P scores were converted to VAS, and KOOS scores were aligned with WOMAC.

The authors noted the following:

  • Based on exclusion criteria, seven studies were included in the systematic review and five in the meta-analysis.
  • The average age of participants across all studies was 53.9 years.
  • 8% of participants were women.
  • The dosage of ESM ranged from 300 mg to 500 mg per day.
  • All studies included in the meta-analysis reported beneficial effects of ESM on pain or function compared to placebo.
  • The total WOMAC Score, which encompasses pain and function, improved more in the participants receiving ESM supplementation than in those receiving placebo or no intervention.
  • The WOMAC pain subscale improved more in those receiving ESM supplementation.
  • Participants who took ESM did not significantly improve in the Visual Analog Scale.
  • Knee stiffness did not improve in participants taking ESM.
  • The WOMAC functional capacity subscale improved more in participants who took ESM than in those who took a placebo.

Results suggest that eggshell membrane supplementation is associated with improvement in pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The meta-analysis’s limitations include a small number of included studies and possible publication bias.

Source: García-Muñoz, Ana María, María Salud Abellán-Ruiz, Ana Isabel García-Guillén, and Desirée Victoria-Montesinos. “Efficacy of Eggshell Membrane in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients 16, no. 16 (2024): 2640.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

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Posted September 20, 2024.

Harold Oster, MD graduated from medical school in Miami, Florida in 1992 and moved to Minnesota in 2004. After more than 25 years of practicing Internal Medicine, he recently retired. Dr. Oster is especially interested in nutrition, weight management, and disease prevention. Visit his website at haroldoster.com.

References:

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  2. Fladerer JP, Grollitsch S. Eggshell membrane as promising supplement to maintain bone health: A systematic review. Bone Rep. Jun 2024;21:101776. doi:10.1016/j.bonr.2024.101776
  3. Zhao QC, Zhao JY, Ahn DU, Jin YG, Huang X. Separation and Identification of Highly Efficient Antioxidant Peptides from Eggshell Membrane. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland). Oct 18 2019;8(10)doi:10.3390/antiox8100495
  4. Woolacott NF, Corbett MS, Rice SJ. The use and reporting of WOMAC in the assessment of the benefit of physical therapies for the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee: findings from a systematic review of clinical trials. Rheumatology (Oxford, England). Aug 2012;51(8):1440-6. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kes043
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  6. Hawker GA, Mian S, Kendzerska T, French M. Measures of adult pain: Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS Pain), Numeric Rating Scale for Pain (NRS Pain), McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), Chronic Pain Grade Scale (CPGS), Short Form-36 Bodily Pain Scale (SF-36 BPS), and Measure of Intermittent and Constant Osteoarthritis Pain (ICOAP). Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Nov 2011;63 Suppl 11:S240-52. doi:10.1002/acr.20543
  7. Collins NJ, Misra D, Felson DT, Crossley KM, Roos EM. Measures of knee function: International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Physical Function Short Form (KOOS-PS), Knee Outcome Survey Activities of Daily Living Scale (KOS-ADL), Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Oxford Knee Score (OKS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Activity Rating Scale (ARS), and Tegner Activity Score (TAS). Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Nov 2011;63 Suppl 11(0 11):S208-28. doi:10.1002/acr.20632