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Effects of 12 Weeks of Hypertrophy Resistance Exercise Training Combined with Collagen Peptide Supplementation on the Skeletal Muscle Proteome in Recreationally Active Men

Vanessa Oertzen-Hagemann, Marius Kirmse, Britta Eggers, Kathy Pfeiffer, Katrin Marcus, Markus de Marées, Petra Platen
Nutrients 2019 11(5):1072

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 31091754
PubMed Central
PMC6566884
DOI
10.3390/nu11051072
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Collagen Research Institute, Germany. The collagen supplement (Bodybalance™) was provided by GELITA AG, Eberbach, Germany. Biohack Blueprint assessment: the Collagen Research Institute (Kiel, Germany) is a research entity closely tied to GELITA, a major commercial collagen peptide manufacturer that also supplied the test product free of charge. The published statement notes funders were permitted to suggest phrasing changes to the manuscript, though final content decisions rested with the authors.
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. However, funders were allowed to make suggestions in phrasing, but the final decision was made by the authors. The independence of the authors and the right to freely publish the data was contractually secured.

Study snapshot

DesignDouble-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial with pre/post muscle biopsy and label-free proteome analysis (LC-MS/MS)
ModelRecreationally active young men without health restrictions expected to influence results, mean age ~24 years
Samplen=25 (collagen group n=12; placebo group n=13)
Intervention15 g/day specific collagen peptides (Bodybalance™, GELITA AG) vs non-caloric silicon dioxide placebo, dissolved in water and consumed within 60 minutes after each training session, alongside a 12-week full-body hypertrophy resistance training programme (3 supervised sessions/week)
Duration12 weeks
EndpointsBody mass and fat-free mass (bioelectrical impedance); 1-repetition maximum strength (squat, deadlift, bench press, rowing); Isokinetic knee-extension strength (MViC); Skeletal muscle proteome (vastus lateralis biopsy, label-free LC-MS/MS)

What the study showed, in plain terms

This trial asked whether adding 15 g/day of collagen peptide to a 12-week hypertrophy resistance-training programme changes the protein makeup of muscle tissue itself, not just body-composition scale numbers, in young recreationally active men.

Both groups trained identically and gained strength and muscle. The collagen group gained significantly more total body mass and fat-free mass, and a muscle biopsy analysis found far more proteins linked to contractile muscle fibres and connective tissue were upregulated in the collagen group (221 proteins) than in the placebo group (44 proteins).

Strength gains were only slightly higher with collagen and the difference did not reach statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons — so the clearest signal here is body composition and the underlying muscle protein response, not a proven extra strength benefit. This is a young, healthy, non-sarcopenic population; a separate earlier trial in older sarcopenic men (Zdzieblik 2015) is where the strength benefit has been most clearly shown.

Key findings

  • Body mass increased significantly more in the collagen group (+3.01 kg) than placebo (+1.50 kg); interaction p=0.035.
  • Fat-free mass increased significantly more in the collagen group (+2.56 kg) than placebo (+0.70 kg); interaction p=0.014.
  • Rowing 1-RM strength increased significantly more in the collagen group; interaction p=0.025. Squat, deadlift, bench press and isokinetic strength trended higher in the collagen group but did not reach statistical significance.
  • 221 proteins were upregulated only in the collagen group after 12 weeks, versus 44 in the placebo group; upregulated proteins in the collagen group were concentrated in contractile-fibre and extracellular-matrix categories (myosin, troponin, tropomyosin, desmin, collagen types V/XV/XVIII).
  • No significant difference in fat mass change between groups.
  • No significant difference in muscle fibre cross-sectional area between groups, reported in a companion analysis by the same research group.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Studied young, recreationally active, non-sarcopenic men — not the older or sarcopenic populations where prior collagen-and-resistance-training trials showed the clearest strength benefit.
  • Small sample size (n=25) for a proteomic sub-study; strength outcomes did not reach statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons, despite numerically favouring collagen.
  • Funding tied to the tested product's manufacturer through a closely affiliated research institute, and the product itself was supplied by that manufacturer.
  • Proteomic changes are associative — more upregulated contractile and matrix proteins do not, on their own, prove the modest body-composition differences were mechanistically caused by collagen rather than by chance or by the small sample.
  • No muscle fibre cross-sectional area difference was found between groups in a companion analysis, which tempers how far the proteomic findings can be extrapolated to a true hypertrophy advantage.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 2
Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men: a randomised controlled trial
Denise Zdzieblik et al. · British Journal of Nutrition · 2015
Tier 2
Prolonged Collagen Peptide Supplementation and Resistance Exercise Training Affects Body Composition in Recreationally Active Men
Marius Kirmse et al. · Nutrients · 2019
Tier 2
Specific Collagen Peptides in Combination with Resistance Training Improve Body Composition and Regional Muscle Strength in Premenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Patrick Jendricke et al. · Nutrients · 2019

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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