Tier 3 — preclinical

Hydrolyzed Collagen—Sources and Applications

Arely León-López, Alejandro Morales-Peñaloza, Víctor Manuel Martínez-Juárez, Apolonio Vargas-Torres, Dimitrios I. Zeugolis, Gabriel Aguirre-Álvarez
Molecules 2019 24(22):4031

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 31703345
PubMed Central
PMC6891674
DOI
10.3390/molecules24224031
Funding
This research was funded by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), grant number 621400.
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignNarrative review
Modelnot applicable — literature review, no human or animal study population
Samplenot applicable
Interventionnot applicable — reviews hydrolysed collagen extraction methods, sources (bovine, porcine, marine, alternative) and molecular/functional properties rather than testing a specific intervention
Durationnot applicable
Endpointsnot applicable — review discusses molecular weight, isoelectric point, viscosity, antioxidant/antimicrobial activity, and food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biomaterial applications of hydrolysed collagen

What the study showed, in plain terms

This is a foundational, mechanistic review rather than a clinical trial, useful background reading for understanding what hydrolysed collagen actually is at a molecular level and why oral supplementation trials measure the outcomes they do.

The review explains that native collagen (roughly 300 kDa, triple-helix structure) is denatured by heat and then enzymatically hydrolysed into small peptides of 3–6 kDa. This dramatic size reduction is what allows hydrolysed collagen to dissolve fully in water, be readily digested, and reach the bloodstream — properties native collagen does not have.

The review also surveys extraction sources (bovine, porcine, and increasingly marine/fish, plus alternative sources like chicken and rabbit skin), and summarises the oral collagen supplementation literature on skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkle reduction, which lines up with the clinical trial evidence held elsewhere in this Data Center. It is included here as a mechanism-and-terminology reference rather than as primary clinical evidence.

Key findings

  • Native collagen has a molecular weight of roughly 300 kDa and a triple-helix structure; hydrolysis (via heat denaturation followed by enzymatic action) reduces this to peptides of 3–6 kDa, changing the isoelectric point from pH 7.0–8.3 down to pH 3.68–5.7.
  • Hydrolysed collagen (HC) has much lower viscosity than native collagen and cannot form films or gels on its own, but gains solubility, digestibility, neutral odour, and better bioavailability as a result of hydrolysis.
  • The review catalogues bovine, porcine, and marine (fish, jellyfish, invertebrate) sources of HC, plus alternative sources such as chicken feet/legs and frog skin, noting marine sources avoid religious and prion-disease (BSE) concerns associated with bovine sources.
  • Human collagen production is reported to fall by around 1% per year starting at ages 18–29, with an overall decline of up to 75% by around age 80 — the rationale commonly cited for oral collagen supplementation.
  • The review summarises multiple human oral-supplementation studies (12-week and 90-day trials) reporting improved skin hydration, wrinkling, elasticity, firmness and dermal collagen density with HC supplementation, consistent with the primary trial evidence held elsewhere in this Data Center.
  • HC is also reviewed for food-industry uses (sausages, beverages, dairy products, soups) and biomaterial applications (films, hydrogels, scaffolds) unrelated to oral nutritional supplementation.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • This is a narrative, non-systematic review with no defined search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, or risk-of-bias assessment; it should not be treated as a pooled or graded evidence synthesis.
  • Much of the review addresses non-clinical applications of hydrolysed collagen (food industry, biomaterials, hydrogels) that are not directly relevant to oral nutritional supplementation for skin, joint, bone or muscle outcomes.
  • As a 2019 publication, it does not capture more recent primary trials or meta-analyses added to the field since then (several of which are already independently held as primary sources in this Data Center).

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology