Tier 2 — strong

Oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides reduces skin wrinkles and increases dermal matrix synthesis

Ehrhardt Proksch, Michael Schunck, Vivian Zague, Dorothee Segger, Jürgen Degwert, Steffen Oesser
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology 2014 27(3):113–119

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 24401291
DOI
10.1159/000355523
Funding
No external grant funding statement disclosed in the paper. Study product (Verisol®) supplied by Gelita AG (Eberbach, Germany).
Competing interests
No explicit competing-interests declaration was identified in the paper. The VERISOL® test product was supplied by GELITA AG. Michael Schunck and Steffen Oesser were affiliated with the Collagen Research Institute (CRI), while Dorothee Segger and Jürgen Degwert were affiliated with Skin Investigation and Technology, the contract skin-testing organization involved in the study. These product-supply and investigator/contract-laboratory relationships are relevant potential commercial-context considerations; this record does not attribute disclosures to the paper that the paper itself did not make.

Study snapshot

DesignMonocentric, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, two-arm supplementation trial with dermal biomarker subgroup
ModelHealthy women aged 45–65 years, Fitzpatrick phototype I–III
Sample114 randomised (n=57 per arm); 108 completed the wrinkle assessment. Suction blister biomarker subgroup: 48 (n=24 per arm); 40 completed.
InterventionRandomised 1:1 to 2.5 g/day Verisol® bioactive collagen peptides (Gelita AG, porcine type I, avg MW 2.0 kDa) or 2.5 g/day maltodextrin placebo — once daily oral, dissolved in liquid, for 8 weeks.
Duration8-week supplementation period; wrinkle assessment also repeated 4 weeks after last intake (12-week total observation, 4-week regression phase); suction blister biopsies at baseline and 8 weeks.
EndpointsEye wrinkle volume at the lateral canthus by optical 3D PRIMOS Compact imaging — primary; Procollagen type I content in suction blister fluid by ELISA (Takara) — secondary; Elastin content in suction blister fluid by ELISA (Cusabio) — secondary; Fibrillin-1 content in suction blister fluid by ELISA (Cusabio) — secondary

What the study showed, in plain terms

This 2014 placebo-controlled trial asked whether a specific oral collagen peptide preparation could change crow's-feet wrinkle measurements and selected dermal biomarkers in women aged 45 to 65.

One hundred and fourteen women were randomized to 2.5 g/day Verisol® or maltodextrin placebo for eight weeks. Wrinkle volume was measured by three-dimensional imaging, and a smaller suction-blister subgroup was analysed for procollagen type I, elastin and fibrillin.

At eight weeks, wrinkle volume was lower in the collagen group than placebo. A difference was still measurable four weeks after supplementation stopped, but that short follow-up does not establish long-term durability. In the small biomarker subgroup, procollagen type I and elastin were higher with collagen; the suction-blister method is an indirect marker of dermal matrix biology rather than direct proof of structural remodelling. Findings apply to the proprietary Verisol® preparation and should be interpreted alongside manufacturer involvement and later evidence-quality concerns.

Key findings

  • Eye wrinkle volume was 7.2% lower versus placebo at 4 weeks (p<0.05) and 20.1% lower versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01) with Verisol® 2.5 g/day.
  • At the 4-week post-treatment follow-up, wrinkle volume remained 11.5% below placebo (p<0.01). This demonstrates short-term persistence of the measured difference, not long-term durability.
  • In the suction-blister biomarker subgroup, procollagen type I content was 65% higher versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01).
  • Elastin content in suction-blister fluid was 18% higher versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01).
  • Fibrillin-1 was 6% higher versus placebo, but the difference was not statistically significant.
  • The placebo group's wrinkle volume increased over the trial, which contributes to the large between-group contrast and should be considered when interpreting effect size.
  • No treatment-related adverse events were reported over the 8-week intervention and 4-week follow-up.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Female-only sample aged 45–65, Fitzpatrick phototypes I–III. Findings do not generalise to men, younger women, older women, or non-Caucasian skin types.
  • Only one dose tested (2.5 g/day). No dose–response established within this trial.
  • The biomarker subgroup was only n=20 per arm. The reported +65% procollagen and +18% elastin effect sizes are impressive but the small sample means the confidence intervals are wide and the results warrant independent replication.
  • Wrinkle assessment was objective (3D imaging) but region-specific — only the outer corner of one eye was analysed. No data on nasolabial folds, forehead wrinkles, or other cosmetically important facial areas.
  • The 20% relative wrinkle reduction is unusually large for a supplement trial. The placebo group's baseline-to-8-week rise of 14.5% inflates the between-group difference and should be interpreted with the placebo-group trajectory in mind.
  • Suction blister ELISA measures free/soluble matrix protein in interstitial fluid — the relationship between fluid-phase protein and structural dermal matrix content is indirect.
  • Substantial commercial conflict of interest — Verisol® supplied by Gelita AG (its manufacturer), and co-authors Schunck and Oesser are affiliated with a Gelita-linked research institute. No explicit competing interests statement.
  • Placebo (maltodextrin) does not control for amino acid load of a protein supplement. A whey or casein placebo would be a stronger comparator.
  • Findings apply specifically to the Verisol® peptide composition. Other collagen hydrolysates with different molecular weight distributions or peptide profiles may not perform equivalently.
  • Single centre, single investigator team. Independent replication in a different laboratory setting has been slow to accumulate.

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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