Patent ID: 7985741

Claim:
A method for treatment of a disorder selected from the group containing joint disorders, inflammatory disorders, and other rheumatoid conditions, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of chito-oligomers of N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG) and glucosamine obtained by a process comprising a first step of partially deacetylating chitin and a second step of enzymatically hydrolyzing the partially deacetylated chitin, wherein the oligomers have a chain length in the range of about 2-50, the degree of deacetylation of the oligomers is in the range of about 0-70%, the oligomers comprise a size larger than a dimer and have an inhibitory effect on chitinase-like proteins, and at least about 10 wt % of the chito-oligomers have a chain length of 2 to 12.