Abstract
The use of nutraceuticals in equine medicine is rapidly growing into a global multibillion-dollar industry. With the introduction of Dietary Supplement Health and Education (DSHEA) legislation in 1994, the regulation of nutraceuticals for animals has become rather vague but was partially rescued by the formation of the National Animal Supplements Council (NASC) in 2002. In equine practice, nutraceuticals are commonly used as performance enhancers as well as joint supplements. In both instances, research in humans as well as horses has been of critical importance. Lameness in horses is one of the most important conditions impacting their usefulness, and nutraceuticals are used commonly in its treatment. Products containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have been shown to be effective with some level of scientific support. There are many others, like undenatured type II collagen, manganese, antioxidants, and vitamin C, which have also been employed with varying levels of success. As performance enhancers, l-carnitine, creatine, branched-chain amino acids, and HMB have all been used, with HMB showing promise. In spite of the initial euphoria, it is a challenging time for the nutraceutical industry to generate quality clinical data to support efficacy and safety claims on its products to ensure sustained growth.
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Sankaranarayanan, A. (2019). Nutraceuticals in Equine Medicine. In: Gupta, R., Srivastava, A., Lall, R. (eds) Nutraceuticals in Veterinary Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04624-8_45
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