Complex of Collagen Peptides and Glycosaminoglycans: Prevention and Treatment of Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System

Disorders of the human musculoskeletal system represent a medical problem. Diseases of arthritis, arthrosis of joints, and chondrodysplasia of the spine are accompanied by destruction of connective tissues and their structural components: collagen fibrils and proteoglycans. Glycosaminoglycans (chondroprotectors) have been used for a long time to treat arthritis and arthrosis, while collagen peptides (hydrolyzed collagen) have been used only in the last 10–15 years to treat joint diseases. Designing the composition of nutraceuticals made of collagen and proteoglycans helps to solve the problem of replenishing missing structural components in the tissues of the musculoskeletal system. We consider that one of the promising solutions of this problem is to obtain the complex of collagen peptides and glycosaminoglycans specific to connective tissues. The purpose of this review is to analyze the data available in the literature about collagen peptides and their complexes with glycosaminoglycans and to compare their characteristics with the samples obtained in our studies.