You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

The scientific evidence to support the administration of nutritional supplements to pets is often very weak. Best evidence are randomised controlled trials (RCTs)

Antioxidants (n=1 RCT)

In one RCT (Impellizeri 1998) feeding an antioxidant supplement (a) containing bioflavanol from grape seed extract and other vitamins to dogs with OA (n=18) improved subjective assessment of lameness and range of movement compared to placebo. However, the methodology has been questioned due to lack of details in the methodology and some results (Kirkby 2012) and any observed affect may not have been specifically due to an antioxidant effect.

Evidence : WEAK – Positive effect

a Proanthozone (Animal Health Options

References

Impellizeri JA, Lau RE, Azzara F: (1998) Fourteen week clinical evaluation of an oral antioxidant as a treatment for OA secondary to canine hip dysplasia. Veterinary Quarterly 20(Supp 1):S107–S108

Kirkby KA and Lewis DD (2012) Canine Hip Dysplasia: Reviewing the Evidence for Non¬surgical Management. Veterinary Surgery 4 1:2-9

Updated September 2015