Compiled & Medically reviewed by
Dr.Sanjana.V.B. Bhms. Dbrm.Cdn

Nutricosmetics -collagen supplements

      The nutricosmetics are products and ingredients that act as nutritional supplements to care skin, nails, and hair. These natural food products are also called nutraceuticals.Various types of nutricosmetics are collagen supplements, peptides, proteins, vitamins, carotenes, minerals, omega 3 fatty acids.

      Nutricosmetics refers to dietary supplements and functional food that are taken orally to provide beauty benefits. The global Nutricosmetics market has experienced tremendous growth in the past few decades as consumers are seeking natural ingredients that promote beauty from the inside out. 

These supplements are designed to improve skin, hair, and nails and help to improve your skin and hair health from inside out focusing on anti-aging or healthy aging. 

Collagen supplements

How does collagen supplement help your ageing skin?

     Skin aging is dependent on various causes such as inherent and extrinsic factors.Inherent factors include-genetic, hormonal, and metabolic factors, and extrinsic factors include - exposure to UV rays, smoking, air pollution, chemicals and poor nutrition.

  Aging affects connective tissue in the skin, causing declines in elastin and collagen fibers and thus resulting in fine lines and wrinkles. Aging also reduces the production of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycan (such as hyaluronic acid) in the skin, as well as cartilage. As a result, skin tissue weakens, losing its integrity, and the skin becomes dry, dehydrated.

 Apart from various intrinsic ageing causes, other factors such as exposure to sun, lifestyle, and pollution can accelerate the aging process. UV rays of sun cause photo -ageing of the skin losing its moisture,causing dullness, roughness and fine lines or wrinkles.

Moreover, wrinkling progresses as skin thickness decreases over time due to reduction in collagen [1].

Collagen the main  natural component of connective tissues that make up several body parts, including tendons, ligaments, skin, and muscles [3].As the most abundant protein in the body, collagen is essential to maintain the normal structure and strength of connective tissue, such as bones, skin, cartilage, and blood vessels.

 There are 28 types of collagen, the four most common types of collagen are: 

Type I : it is the most common type; flexible, strong, provides resistance to force, tension, and stretch; mostly  found in all connective tissue, particularly in scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, bone, cornea, skin, and dentin. 

Type II : provides resistance to pressure in joints and vertebral column; found in articular and hyaline cartilage of joints and intervertebral discs.

Type III : provides a flexible meshwork for cellular support, the main component of reticular fibers, often found in organs such as skin and blood vessels. It is involved in the early stages of wound healing and plays a key role in granulation tissue formation.

Type IV:  an essential component of the kidneys, inner ear, and lens of the eye.

     Glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline contribute to 57% of total amino acids (AAs) in collagen.collagen is crucial to healthy young skin.

Researchers have claimed that increasing peptide production of hyaluronic acid in skin fibroblasts  strengthen collagen, thus raising the amount of moisture in the stratum corneum layer of the skin [10 ]. Hence, the existing data suggest that the presence of these proteins in the body helps to maintain the amount of collagen in the skin [10]. Collagen is considered crucial for reducing skin ageing process from sun induced damage and that from intrinsic factors [11]. Decline in collagen causes a decrease in the skin thickness, as well as a loss of elasticity and flexibility [12].

Collagen supplements 

Collagen supplements are available primarily in powder form but are also available in capsules. The types of collagen found in supplements vary — some contain one or two types, while others contain up to five.

Collagen supplements play a key role in strengthening the ageing skin. It can also improve the elasticity of skin and keep the skin moisturized. With growing age your body produces less collagen, leading to dry skin and the formation of wrinkles. 

Human skin is largely made up of collagen-rich connective tissue, which offers structural and functional support. The collagen-rich connective tissue is produced, organized, and maintained by dermal fibroblasts.

With increasing age, collagen fibrils of skin undergo progressive loss and fragmentation, and weakening the skin; impairs skin structure and function and  foster an environment for age-related skin diseases, such as delayed wound healing and skin cancer.

Studies show that oral collagen supplements also increase skin elasticity, hydration, and dermal collagen density. Collagen supplementation is generally safe with no reported adverse events [5].

 One study using collagen dipeptide suggested anti-aging efficacy is proportionate to collagen dipeptide content

 Collagen deteriorates with age, so does bone mass. This may lead to conditions such as osteoporosis, which is characterized by low bone density and a higher risk of bone fractures.

Studies show that collagen supplements may help prevent the bone breakdown and thus osteoporotic bone fracture. Both oral and topical collagen can contribute to reducing or delaying skin aging.

The evidence from the reviewed studies suggested that both collagen supplements improve skin moisture, elasticity, and hydration when orally administered. Additionally, collagen reduces the wrinkling and roughness of the skin, and existing studies have not found any side effects of its oral supplements [5].

Most of the collagen supplements recommended by experts are enriched with peptides containing amino acids - including proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline - considered to be essential components of collagen [7].

Mechanism of Action of Collagen Supplements

 Collagen helps to maintain the structure, stability, and strength of the skin. The studies have shown antioxidant and reparative actions of collagen in wrinkled or damaged skin.  It  provides the skin essential components for both elastin and collagen, and it is attached to the fibroblast receptors in the dermis of skin to trigger the production of elastin and hyaluronic acid. So far, oral collagen has been studied to a greater extent than topical collagen in this regard.

Orally consumed collagen bioactive peptides are absorbed relatively quickly because such collagen products have lower molecular weights, distributing these peptides easily across several tissues [8].

Side effects

Collagen supplements are generally well tolerated, with negligible reported side effects. However, some collagen supplements are made from common food allergens, such as fish, shellfish, and eggs. People with allergies to these foods better avoid collagen supplements prepared from these sources.

Some people report nausea and bloating while taking collagen supplements, but research has not consistently shown these as side effects.

References

1.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8824545/   

2.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31478301/

3.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542226/

4.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25660807/

5.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30681787/

6.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542226/

7.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28929384/

8.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19957932/