NASC Advances Equine Joint Supplement Substantiation Using CytoSolve® Systems Architecture for In Silico Combination Screening Across Core Joint Health Pathways

Partner Description

National Animal Supplement Council
The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to responsible animal supplement use through scientific substantiation, quality standards, and industry accountability. To strengthen evidence-based evaluation of complex equine joint formulations, NASC engaged CytoSolve®’s Product Testing Division to conduct an independent, mechanistically grounded assessment of combination efficacy.

Challenge

Equine joint health emerges from tightly coupled biological processes—including inflammation, oxidative stress, cartilage degeneration, and cartilage regeneration—that evolve together over time. Most equine joint supplements are multi-ingredient formulations, making it difficult to quantify single-ingredient versus synergistic effects, account for pathway cross-talk (such as inflammation amplifying oxidative stress and tissue degradation), and evaluate time-dependent outcomes with sufficient control and repeatability using traditional experimental approaches alone. NASC required a rigorous systems-level method capable of objectively determining whether combination formulations deliver measurable synergy beyond individual ingredients, with full mechanistic traceability suitable for scientific substantiation.

How CytoSolve® Helped

CytoSolve® applied its computational systems biology platform to perform a controlled, repeatable in silico combination screening of an Equine Joint Formula containing chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, sodium hyaluronate, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), and vitamin C.

The workflow began with a systematic literature review to define a pathway blueprint governing equine joint health. These mechanisms were translated into individually validated mathematical models representing four core biological systems: inflammation (PGE2 dynamics via arachidonic acid metabolism), oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species generation and modulation), cartilage degeneration (MMP-13–mediated matrix breakdown), and cartilage regeneration (collagen-II synthesis as a regenerative marker).

Using CytoSolve®’s distributed integration engine, the validated pathway models were dynamically coupled to preserve molecular interdependencies and pathway cross-talk. Dose-relevant simulations were performed to evaluate individual ingredient effects at recommended levels, followed by combination screening over a 30-day simulated period. Controlled, repeatable comparisons quantified differences between single-ingredient and multi-ingredient performance within a unified computational framework.

Key Benefits Realized

  • Coherent systems architecture capturing four core molecular processes governing equine joint health.
  • Quantitative comparison of individual ingredient effects versus combination outcomes.
  • Demonstrated synergistic reductions in inflammatory (PGE2) and oxidative stress (ROS) biomarkers.
  • Coordinated downregulation of cartilage degeneration signaling via reduced MMP-13 expression.
  • Enhanced cartilage regeneration reflected by increased collagen-II synthesis under combination conditions.
  • Independent, objective assessment aligned with NASC’s standards for scientific substantiation.

Outcome

CytoSolve®’s in silico combination screening demonstrated that the Equine Joint Formula ingredients act synergistically, producing substantially stronger improvements in joint health biomarkers than individual ingredients alone. Across 30-day simulations, the combination yielded marked reductions in inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress, suppressed cartilage-degrading enzyme activity, and enhanced regenerative collagen synthesis. For NASC, this peer-aligned, mechanistically validated assessment reinforced the principle that multi-ingredient equine joint supplements should be evaluated as integrated biological systems—positioning CytoSolve®’s systems architecture as a scalable, rigorous approach for combination screening and scientific substantiation in animal health.