Chondroitin Sulfate (CS)

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a major microenvironmental molecule in the CNS, and there have been few reports about its neuroprotective activity. One of several classes of sulfated glycosaminoglycans that is a major constituent in various connective tissues, especially in the ground substance of blood vessels, bone, and cartilage.

Chondroitin sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars (N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid). It is usually found attached to proteins as part of a proteoglycan. A chondroitin chain can have over 100 individual sugars, each of which can be sulfated in variable positions and quantities. Understanding the functions of such diversity in chondroitin sulfate and related glycosaminoglycans is a major goal of glycobiology. Chondroitin sulfate is an important structural component of cartilage and provides much of its resistance to compression .