Here, we investigated the influence of physicochemical characteristics of chondroitin sulfate (CS) on its in vitro absorption and anti-inflammatory activity. We used eight different synthetic and natural CS samples with a range of molecular weights (
7-35 kDa) and sulfation patterns. Our studies indicate that the absorption of CS is moderately correlated to percentage of chondroitin-6-sulfate while the anti-inflammatory activity may be weakly related to the molecular weight and the amount of total sulfation in the samples. Our in vitro studies could provide helpful screening tools for quick and effective evaluation of CS samples as a preliminary step towards in vivo studies.
