Perna canaliculus in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Freeze-dried extracts of the New Zealand green lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus, have been promoted extensively as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis for some years though there have been few published trials of its effectiveness. Our study was designed to test the ability of the mussel extract to relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as both a supplement and an alternative to orthodox anti-inflammatory medication.