A placebo-controlled, double-blinded human clinical trial published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry has determined that collagen peptide ingestion reduces the amount of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in the skin.
When the Maillard reaction is a problem
AGEs have been known to be harmful for decades [1], and efforts to destroy or remove AGEs have been ongoing. Previous efforts have largely focused on their roles in arterial stiffness and skin aging, although their roles in insulin resistance and oxidative stress have also been of concern. The process for creating AGEs in the body is generally the same as the well-known Maillard reaction, which improves the flavor of food.
This study focused on collagen peptides as a method of removing these AGEs from human volunteers. Such peptides have been previously found to aid in bone mineralization in women [2], obesity in mice [3], diabetes in a mixed group of people [4], and joint health in runners [5].
A true clinical trial
A total of 30 Japanese people between the ages of 47 and 87 completed this study. There were several exclusion criteria: participants could not have serious diseases or medical conditions such as diabetes, and they could not have metabolic demands such as intense sports, dieting, or pregnancy. The collagen peptides were included in the treatment group’s food.
This study was originally meant to test cognitive function, with skin AGEs being a secondary endpoint; while this paper cites a previous paper on cognitive function [6], it was not analyzed in this paper.
Over the 12 weeks of this study, there was a decrease in the skin AGEs of the treatment group and an increase in the skin AGEs of the control group. While there was some overlap between the groups, the difference was statistically significant.
HOMA-R, a measurement of insulin resistance, was found to be somewhat correlated with skin AGE levels. No side effects were reported from administration of collagen peptides, and the researchers did not detect any abnormalities arising from their use.
Broad potential benefits
These researchers believe that removal of AGEs through collagen peptides may have other benefits that were not tested in this study, specifically focusing on their relationship to cardiovascular problems [7]. They also cite previous research showing that collagen tripeptides have beneficial effects on skin wrinkles [8].
While collagen peptides are by no means a panacea, and they are not claimed to directly affect other aspects of aging, this double-blinded clinical trial and other research suggests that they are at least somewhat effective in removing AGEs from human beings.
Literature
[1] Vlassara, H., & Bucala, R. (1996). Recent progress in advanced glycation and diabetic vascular disease: role of advanced glycation end product receptors. Diabetes, 45(Supplement_3), S65-S66.
[2] König, D., Oesser, S., Scharla, S., Zdzieblik, D., & Gollhofer, A. (2018). Specific collagen peptides improve bone mineral density and bone markers in postmenopausal women—a randomized controlled study. Nutrients, 10(1), 97.
[3] Woo, M., Song, Y. O., Kang, K. H., & Noh, J. S. (2018). Anti-obesity effects of collagen peptide derived from skate (Raja kenojei) skin through regulation of lipid metabolism. Marine drugs, 16(9), 306.
[4] Devasia, S., Kumar, S., Stephena, P. S., Inoue, N., Sugihara, F., & Suzuki, K. (2018). Double blind, randomized clinical study to evaluate efficacy of collagen peptide as add on nutritional supplement in Type 2 diabetes. J. Clin. Nutr. Food Sci, 1, 6-11.
[5] Kimira, Y. (2019). The Effects of Collagen Peptide Supplementation on Knee Joint Health. A Double—blind, Placebo—controlled, Randomized Trial in Healthy University Students Belonging to a Running Club. Jpn Pharmacol Ther, 47(9), 1455-1462.
[6] Koizumi, S., Inoue, N., Sugihara, F., & Igase, M. (2019). Effects of collagen hydrolysates on human brain structure and cognitive function: a pilot clinical study. Nutrients, 12(1), 50.
[7] Baye, E., Mark, A. B., Poulsen, M. W., Andersen, J. M., Dragsted, L. O., Bügel, S. G., & de Courten, B. (2019). Associations between urinary advanced glycation end products and cardiometabolic parameters in metabolically healthy obese women. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(7), 1008.
[8] Lee, Y. I., Lee, S. G., Jung, I., Suk, J., Lee, M. H., Kim, D. U., & Lee, J. H. (2022). Effect of a Topical Collagen Tripeptide on Antiaging and Inhibition of Glycation of the Skin: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(3), 1101.
