I wrote to a popular brand that produces a collagen supplement, and I asked them if “multi-collagen” is essentially just a marking sham. Their response is worthy of publication; however, I am editing their response to make it anonymous. Please note that this brand does sell a collagen product but does not advertise it as “multi-collagen.” This inquiry took place March 29th 2022.
My Question
Hi. I was wondering if there is any science behind multi-collagen advertised by your competitors or of this is just marketing nonsense. In other words, is your collagen “multi-collagen” as well, whatever that means? Have you guys put out any material on it such as a blog post?
Thanks for your time.
Justin
Response from Company
Hello Justin,
The multi-collagen has to do with adding different ‘types’ of collagen into a formulation. I have seen marketing based on the idea that the different types of collagen are better for different parts of the body. We do not make such claims and I am skeptical of the science behind these statements. I will try to explain why.
The main difference between all the different ‘types’ is the 3D structure of the protein and in order to be absorbed by the body it has to be broken down to primarily one to three amino acid chains. Although some emphasize the different forms as a marketing tool. When you consider the digestion process, by the time the smaller peptide chains are absorbed and used by the body, the difference between the different types is lost and the body will use the amino acid building blocks where they are needed regardless of where the original collagen came from.
Even compared to collagen from sources like fish or pork, the amino acid profile is based on the collagen amino acid building blocks and are all similar. What makes collagen such a strong protein is the repeating structure that is Glycine – Proline (which can be hydroxyproline) – X, where X can be a wide variety of amino acids.
The glycine and proline are small amino acids that allows the protein to wrap around into a triple helix structure which is why so much effort is need to break it down to a soluble form. If you would take the collagen raw material directly it would be too tightly bound to digest. The basic building blocks form long strands that form large sheets of collagen that only require small changes to make these sheets form the wide variety of collagen structures or ‘types’. Over 90% of the collagen in the human body is type 1. The following link you may find interesting:
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_aacids.html
We did ask a Professor at Florida State University his opinion on this topic and I paraphrase his comments: ‘There is not any good human data that shows that one type of collagen (when consumed) results in better outcomes in a particular tissue. It is possible that one type over another would result in more or less of certain amino acid combinations (di- or tri-peptides, cyclic peptides, or hydroxylated proteins) but there is just no evidence of this that I have seen. We really need to do that study— and compare Type I, II, II on outcomes to see if there is anything to the claim. But as of now, no data support it and the studies that claim so do not compare one type of collagen against another (only against a placebo)…’
Another way to think about this is that similar to other proteins that primarily support muscles the benefits come from a metabolic pool that the body uses to repair tissues. If I am trying to build up my leg muscles, I don’t just eat chicken legs. Once digested the source of the protein I consume is not significantly important to the nutritional value. In a similar way all the different ‘types’ can be used by the body to support all the collagen of the body. Multi-collagen in my opinion is nutritionally comparable to our product that comes primarily from type 1.
I hope that this answers your question. I can be contacted at [redacted email]. We have been getting this question more frequently and the answer is not easily communicated and gets a little technical. I am not a medical doctor, but have a scientific background with a degree in Organic Chemistry from [redacted] University.
Regards,
[redacted name][redacted company]
Scientific Advisor
[redacted phone number]
Niceties
Amazing information and thank you.
Sincerely,
Justin