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

DOI
10.1159/000355523
PubMed
PMID 24401291
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 statement disclosed in the paper. Test product Verisol® was supplied by Gelita AG, a commercial manufacturer of collagen peptide ingredients that markets Verisol® directly. Co-authors Michael Schunck and Steffen Oesser were affiliated with CRI Collagen Research Institute (Kiel, Germany), a research entity closely tied to Gelita AG. Co-authors Dorothee Segger and Jürgen Degwert were affiliated with Skin Investigation and Technology (Hamburg, Germany), a contract skin-testing organisation. Substantial commercial conflict of interest across product supply and authorship affiliations despite the absence of a formal declaration.

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

Wrinkles are among the most visible signs of skin aging, and reducing them is a large commercial market. Most anti-wrinkle products are creams or serums applied to the surface. This 2014 trial asked a different question: can swallowing a collagen supplement noticeably reduce facial wrinkles, and if so, is the mechanism something happening deep in the skin rather than a surface effect?

One hundred and fourteen women aged 45 to 65 were randomly assigned to take either 2.5 grams of Verisol® collagen peptides or an identical-looking placebo every day for eight weeks. Wrinkles at the outer corner of the eye — the "crow's feet" area — were measured objectively using a three-dimensional imaging device that captures fine surface detail without depending on subjective judgement. In addition, a smaller subgroup of women had small suction blisters raised on the forearm, so the fluid inside could be analysed for three proteins the skin uses to build and maintain its structure: procollagen type I, elastin, and fibrillin.

By eight weeks, eye wrinkle volume in the collagen group had dropped by about 20 percent compared to placebo — a large and statistically clear effect. Some individual women showed reductions approaching 50 percent. Four weeks after stopping the supplement, most of the improvement was still there, meaning the change was durable, not something that would vanish the next morning. The suction blister analysis matched: procollagen type I was 65 percent higher and elastin 18 percent higher in the collagen group versus placebo. Fibrillin also rose but by only 6 percent, not enough to be statistically confident about. Together, the clinical wrinkle finding plus the dermal protein finding form the strongest single-trial evidence to date that oral collagen supplementation acts on the dermal matrix, not merely on skin surface hydration.

Key findings

  • Eye wrinkle volume decreased 7.2% versus placebo at 4 weeks (p<0.05) and 20.1% versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01) in the Verisol® 2.5 g/day group. Maximum individual reduction observed was 49.9%.
  • The wrinkle reduction persisted at 11.5% below placebo at the 4-week regression phase (p<0.01), indicating a durable effect rather than a transient one.
  • In the suction blister biomarker subgroup, procollagen type I content increased 65% versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01).
  • Elastin content in suction blister fluid increased 18% versus placebo at 8 weeks (p<0.01).
  • Fibrillin-1 content rose 6% versus placebo at 8 weeks — trend favourable but did not reach statistical significance.
  • In the placebo group, mean eye wrinkle volume increased by 14.5% from baseline to 8 weeks (likely reflecting seasonal or weather-related skin changes over the trial period), giving a between-group difference of ~32%.
  • No treatment-related adverse events or side effects reported in any of the 114 participants across the 8-week supplementation period plus 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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Reviewed by , Medical Advisory Board · Last verified against PubMed on 28 August 2026