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Updated: Aug 11, 2025
Author Spotlight: Treating Knee Osteoarthritis with Tuina - A New Perspective
Published on: January 12, 2024
Standardised ido-BR1 Cucumber Extract Improved Parameters Linked to Moderate Osteoarthritis in a Placebo-controlled
Robert James Nash1, Amelie Mafongang2, Harinder Singh3
1PhytoQuest Limited, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY233EB, UK.
Background:
According to the World Health Organization, osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the 10 most disabling diseases in developed countries, with worldwide estimates of 9.6% prevalence in men and 18.0% in women over 60 years old. Its management is not well established and involves the use of high doses of painkillers coupled with anti-inflammatory agents.
Objective:
In the search for alternatives to manage the disease, previous studies have shown superior properties of Q-ActinTM in managing OA-related pain compared with standard treatments. Qactin is a cucumber extract with the anti-inflammatory iminosugar idoBR1 standardised to over 1%. This study investigated the effects of different doses (20 mg, 100 mg) of Q-Actin in a longitudinal placebo-controlled experiment.
Methods:
There were 101 patients with knee OA enrolled for the 180-day study, with 91 patients completing it. Patients were grouped into a placebo group (PLBO), as well as a 20mg dose (Q-Actin 1) and 100 mg dose (Q-Actin 2) groups. The PLBO group received cellulose in capsules identical to the Q-Actin capsules.
Results:
There was a significant improvement in the pain-related parameters over time that was dose-dependent.
Conclusion:
This study clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of Q-Actin compared to placebo in the management of pain related to moderate osteoarthritis.
