Natural eggshell membrane (NEM), a source of collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and calcium, has become popular through claims that it can relieve joint pain and improve mobility in those suffering from some forms of arthritis. Each of the beneficial compounds within eggshells have been researched extensively over the past several years for similar health benefits.
 
Stratum Nutrition, a manufacturer of eggshell and eggshell membrane wellness ingredients, announced the third publication of its joint health ingredient, NEM, which supports the ingredient’s fast efficacy by documenting statistically significant improvements in pain and stiffness after ten days of use.
 
The Journal of Arthritis recently published a study designed to evaluate the efficacy of Stratum’s NEM eggshell membrane in the reduction of joint pain, stiffness, and functional disability in 70 patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis.
 
In the study, 160 subjects over 40 years old received either a placebo, or a daily dose of 500 mg of eggshell membrane for 30 days. After day 30, the placebo group crossed over to the eggshell membrane dose for an additional 60 days, while the group being dosed since the beginning finished 90 full days of daily eggshell membrane supplementation. Patients who took NEM for 90 days saw significantly greater improvements than patients who took it for 60 days after being on a placebo for 30, despite a placebo effect showing symptomatic improvements in self-reported pain assessments.
 
 NEM supplementation proved to be effective and safe in WOMAN pain assessments, VAS pain assessments, and Luquesne Algofunctional Index Pain at statistically significant levels after only ten days. By the end of the two-month study, reductions in pain reached an average of 52%, 49%, and 39%, respectively. Statistical significance was reached after ten days, and the majority of symptomatic improvements appeared to occur within the first 30 days of treatment.
 
The study found that maximal efficacy is reached at around 90 days of daily supplementation.
 
After 60 days of NEM supplementation, researchers determined that there were no differences in overall WOMAC or Lequesne scores in patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 radiographically diagnosed osteoarthritis.
 
“In practice, this means that the symptoms of KL grade 3 sufferers improved so substantially that they had the symptoms of only KL grade 1 OA after consuming NEM for just 60 days,” Kevin J. Ruff, PhD, MBA, Stratums senior director of scientific and regulatory affairs, said.
 
Researchers shared a similar concusion. “This is now the sixth clinical trial involving NEM and the largest trial to date,” the study concluded. “The therapeutic benefits reported in each of these geographically-diverse trials, including the present study, have been consistent and reproducible. Taken together, the use of NEM in the context of OA consistently yields statistically significant and clinically meaningful results. The combination of quick symptom relief (7 days) coupled with continuing long-term relief (90 days) is impressive from a food-based ingredient, and should be clinically beneficial for those suffering from OA.”