Tier 2 — strong

Effects of hydrolyzed collagen alone or in combination with fish oil on the gut microbiome in patients with major burns

Shiva Salehi, Elham Alipoor, Mohammad Javad Hosseinzadeh-Attar, Mostafa Dahmardehei, Seyed Davar Siadat

Burns 2024 50(2):444-453

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 38114377
DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2023.08.017
Trial registry: View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding: Supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences grant 42200.
Competing interests: Authors reported no competing interests.

Study snapshot

Design	Randomized double-blind three-arm controlled clinical trial
Model	Adults 18–60 with severe burns affecting 20–45% body surface area
Sample	57 adults randomized to collagen, collagen + fish oil, or placebo
Intervention	40 g/day hydrolyzed collagen + 10 mL sunflower oil, 40 g/day collagen + 10 mL fish oil, or placebo
Duration	2 weeks
Endpoints	Bifidobacterium; Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio; Lactobacillus; Enterobacteriaceae; F. prausnitzii

What the study showed, in plain terms

In patients with major burns, 40 g/day collagen alone or with fish oil did not create clear between-group improvements in the measured gut bacterial populations after two weeks.

Key findings

Bifidobacterium decreased within placebo and collagen-only arms; fish-oil addition prevented a within-group decline. No significant between-group improvement in measured taxa was established.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Critically ill burn population, very high 40-g dose, short intervention, microbiome surrogates only. Not directly representative of healthy adults taking 10-g bovine collagen; cannot claim gut barrier restoration.

Citation network

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Jul 8, 2026 Collagen for Gut Health: What Human Studies ShowHuman evidence for collagen and gut health is preliminary, with no controlled evidence that it repairs the gut barrier. Here’s what the...Read analysis

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