Disc+

Type II collagen is the principal structural protein of cartilage — including the cartilage of the facet joints and the endplates that cap each spinal disc. It is the single largest active in the formula, which is why it leads the list.

Collagen has an unusual repeating structure in which roughly every third amino acid is glycine — the smallest amino acid, and the only one that fits inside the triple helix. That makes it the amino acid collagen requires in the greatest quantity.

A glycosaminoglycan found naturally in cartilage and in the matrix of the disc, where molecules of this class are what allow the tissue to attract and hold water. Included alongside glucosamine, the pairing most often studied together in joint nutrition.

An amino sugar the body uses as a raw material when building glycosaminoglycans — the water-binding molecules of cartilage. It is among the most extensively researched compounds in joint nutrition, which is why it sits at the same 100 mg level as chondroitin.

Proline, and the hydroxyproline your body makes from it, account for a large share of collagen’s amino acid sequence. That conversion depends on vitamin C as a cofactor — which is exactly why proline and vitamin C appear together in this formula rather than separately.

An essential branched-chain amino acid and the primary dietary trigger for muscle protein synthesis. It is here because a spine is stabilised by the muscles around it, not by discs alone.

The most abundant collagen in the human body, and the dominant type in bone, tendon, ligament and the tough outer ring of the disc. Type I covers those structures where Type II covers cartilage — between them they span the tissues around a spinal segment.

A stable form of the amino acid cysteine, and the rate-limiting precursor your body uses to make glutathione — the antioxidant it produces internally. Included on the antioxidant side of the formula alongside vitamins C and E.

Turmeric is the botanical source of the curcuminoids it has long been valued for traditionally. At 10 mg this is a supporting inclusion rather than a standalone extract dose — and the label states the amount exactly, so you can judge that for yourself.

S-adenosyl-L-methionine is a methyl donor your body makes from the amino acid methionine and uses across a wide range of enzyme reactions, including those that attach sulphate groups to glycosaminoglycans. As with turmeric, this is a supporting-level inclusion, stated openly on the label.

Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage and bones, and — with vitamin E — to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Vitamins B1, B6 and B12 contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the normal functioning of the nervous system. Vitamin A contributes to normal iron metabolism.

Zinc and calcium contribute to the maintenance of normal bones, and magnesium does the same while also contributing to normal muscle function. Copper contributes to the maintenance of normal connective tissues. Iron contributes to normal oxygen transport and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.