Supplements & functional ingredients How does it work?
So, what exactly is collagen and what’s the idea behind supplementation? Accounting for about 30% of your body’s total protein – and making up around three-quarters of your skin – it’s found in the skin, muscles, bones and connective tissues, as well as within the internal organs. It has various functions, chiefly to provide structure, strength and support, and it’s what gives younger people their dewy skin. “There is a natural balance between production and breakdown of collagen, but as we age more collagen is broken down than produced, eventually leading to sagging and wrinkling of the skin,” notes Kentley. “Over the age of 30, we lose roughly one per cent of our body’s collagen per year, and the rate of loss rises significantly following menopause.” While this loss is mostly inevitable, various lifestyle and environmental factors can further accelerate the breakdown. These include exposure to ultraviolet light, smoking, air pollution, and eating too much sugar and refined carbs.
Starting in the 1980s, scientists began to wonder whether ingested collagen peptides could function in the same way as the collagen we produce, making up some of the shortfall. In 1985, a Polish team successfully extracted collagen from fish skin, using a technique called hydrolysation to preserve its delicate bonds.
While the idea of absorbing collagen directly is an attractive proposition, it doesn’t work quite that way. Collagen molecules are too big to be taken up by the bloodstream, meaning they need to be broken down by enzymes into smaller fragments called peptides. (Hydrolysed collagen is already broken down into peptides, saving the body some work and improving the ease of absorption.)
These fragments are used by the body to synthesise new proteins. In theory, they could make their way directly to the dermis of the skin, where they come back together to replenish collagen levels. As critics have argued, there is no guarantee that the building blocks will rebuild in quite the same way, nor in quite the places you want them. What’s more, while collagen supplements do contain all the raw materials needed for the body to make collagen, you could obtain those same materials (amino acids) from your regular diet. All this said, there may be something special that happens with ingested collagen. “Experiments in mice seem to show that these collagen fragments are deposited in the skin and result in increased expression of genes related to skin development and increased collagen levels,” says Kentley. “Once in the skin, these fragments act as the building blocks for fibroblasts to produce new collagen.” According to Dr Emilia Pasiah, a California-based physician with an expertise in dermatology, there may
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be other mechanisms at play too. “Some studies suggest that collagen supplements can inhibit the activity of enzymes that break down collagen in the skin, thereby preserving existing collagen fibres,” she says. It seems that the collagen fragments also stimulate fibroblasts to produce other proteins. These include elastin (responsible for skin elasticity) and hyaluronic acid (responsible for skin hydration) – a potent mix for anyone looking to recapture their youthful glow.
What does the evidence say? Although there is little evidence to support marketing claims around the hair and nails, there are plenty of studies that show benefits for the skin. One 2020 research paper published in the ‘Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology’ gave freshwater marine collagen, or a placebo, to a group of women for 12 weeks. Compared to the placebo group, the collagen group experienced improvements in skin elasticity, hydration and radiance, and a significant reduction in wrinkles. A 2024 study, which looked at 116 women over three months, found that 83.6% of them saw an improvement after taking collagen supplements. More compelling still, is a 2021 meta-analysis of 19 randomised, placebo-controlled trials, which involved 1,125 participants in total. It concluded that ‘ingestion of hydrolysed collagen for 90 days is effective in reducing skin ageing, as it reduces wrinkles and improves skin elasticity and hydration.’ Pasiah finds this evidence base convincing, remarking that multiple studies have shown the same kind of result. “I would recommend collagen supplements to patients who are concerned about skin ageing, with a moderate to high level of confidence, based on the current supportive clinical evidence,” she says. Kentley, however, sounds a note of caution, pointing out that most of these studies were performed on small groups of patients for a short
Collagen provides structure to skin and joints, but declines with age. Supplements aim to replenish it, potentially reducing wrinkles and joint pain.
Predicted value of collagen supplements market in 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate of 7.66%.
$8.59bn Mordor Intelligence 25
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