Insufficient glucosamine / chondroitin in bloodstream?

Question:
Is it right that glucosamine and chondroitin do not work, since the active substances cannot be entered sufficiently in the bloodstream? What is your opinion on that?

Answer:
The concentration of  substances found in the bloodstream, are relevant for the effectiveness. Critics have been claiming for a long time that glucosamine could not be effective because it hardly reaches the bloodstream and thus does not reach in a meaningful amount the joints.

The mechanism of action of many natural and pharmaceutical substances is not clear. For many years it was thought that glucosamine and chondroitin were nutrients for the articular cartilage. Later the hypothesis was suggested that they are semiochemicals that in small concentrations are already effective.

Recently we encountered a new concept: glucosamine and chondroitin have an effect on the biofilm of damaging bacteria that can be present along the intestinal wall. However, we cannot assess how strong the basis is for this last theory. We chose to keep aloof from this discussion. What really counts is the effect people experience from glucosamine and chondroitin.