Bone tissue is made up of 70% inorganic components (45% mineral salts and 25% water) and 30% organic matrix. The 90% of this organic matrix is type I collagen to which the calcium salts are attached.

The special bond between collagen and calcium salts provides the bone a characteristic toughness and mechanical resistance.

During aging, the loss and deterioration of bone collagen causes the release of calcium salts (decalcification). Consequently, bone mass is reduced, and the bone becomes more fragile, increasing the risk of fracture.

When this process causes a marked and pathological loss of bone mass, it is called osteoporosis (OP), a silent disease until a fracture occurs. OP affects more women after menopause because the decrease in the level of estrogens slows down the synthesis of collagen¹.

At this point, supplementing the diet with only calcium and vitamin D is not enough help because the calcium salts cannot reattach to the bone if its collagenous matrix does not have enough collagen fibers to adhere to.

That is why we need a supplement capable of nourishing both the mineral (calcium salts) and the organic (collagen matrix) components of bone tissue and stimulating its regeneration.

It is known that collagen peptides have a good mineral binding capacity that allows the formation of peptide-mineral complexes. This is the case of PHOSCOLLAGEN^®, a peptide-mineral complex formed by COLPROPUR D^® hydrolyzed collagen and hydroxyapatite (HAP, the bone-specific calcium phosphate salt), both from fresh bovine bones, in which the micronized HAP is stabilized in a matrix of collagen peptides, forming a homogeneous ingredient that is not a simple mixture, but an uniform compound.

PHOSCOLLAGEN^® brings together the nutritional and functional properties that a supplement needs to take care of bone health in an optimal and sustainable way:

It provides the most bioavailable nutrients related to mineral (calcium phosphate in the form of HAP) and organic (collagen matrix) main bone components.

Collagen peptides increase calcium bioavailability, improving its absorption. In addition, HAP provides a Calcium/Phosphorus physiological rate (the same rate as in the body), which helps to prevent decalcification and facilitates mineralization.

Collagen peptides act as biological signals (biopeptides) that stimulate osteoblast to synthesize collagen bone matrix and subsequently mineralize it. In addition, collagen amino acids act as building blocks providing structural units to osteoblast activity.

PHOSCOLLAGEN^® allows synergy between nutritional and functional action (bioactivity), providing an additional benefit to the sum of the positive effects of each action. This synergy is only possible in an ingredient that brings together specific nutritional and bioactive components capable of enhance bone health.

Scientific studies

In an in vitro study [2] carried out with human osteoblast cultures treated with PHOSCOLLAGEN^®, after simulating its gastrointestinal digestion and absorption, a significant increase in the proliferation of preosteoblasts (Fig. 1) and in the production of gene expression of bone biomarkers associated with the osteogenic activity of mature osteoblasts (Fig. 2) is observed at 24h in comparison with the control (sample resulting from digestive and absorption processes in the absence of PHOSCOLLAGEN^®). These results show that PHOSCOLLAGEN^® is a functional food ingredient useful for promoting bone formation.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Consistent with the results of PHOSCOLLAGEN^® study, there are other studies that support the benefits of hydrolyzed collagen on bone health [3-8] and show how its intake significantly improves the results of calcitonin administration [9] and calcium and vitamin D supplementation [10-15].

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References

Aurégan, JC., et al. “Correlation between skin and bone parameters in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis: a systematic review” EFORT Open Rev 2018;3:449-460.

Soriano-Romaní L, Nieto JA, Tomás-Cobos L, Díez-Sánchez E. “Modulatory activity of a bovine hydrolyzed collagen-hydroxyapatite food complex on human primary osteoblasts after simulating its gastrointestinal digestion and absorption”. Nutr Hosp 2022;39(3):644-651.

Kim HK, Kim MG, Leem KH “Collagen hydrolysates increased osteogenic gene expressions via a MAPK signaling pathway in MG-63 human osteoblasts” Food Funct. (2014) Mar; 5(3): 573-8.

Wang J, Liu J, Guo Y. “Cell Growth Stimulation, Cell Cycle Alternation, and Anti-Apoptosis Effects of Bovine Bone Collagen Hydrolysates Derived Peptides on MC3T3-E1 Cells Ex Vivo”. (2020); 25(10):E2305.

Wauquier, F., et al. “Human Enriched Serum Following Hydrolysed Collagen Absorption Modulates Bone Cell Activity: from Bedside to Bench and Vice Versa” Nutrients (2019), 11, 1249.

Kim HK, Kim MG, Leem KH “Osteogenic activity of collagen peptide via ERK/MAPK pathway mediated boosting of collagen synthesis and its therapeutic efficacy in osteoporotic bone by back-scattered electron imaging and microarchitecture analysis” Molecules (2013), 18, 15474-15489.

Leem KH, Lee S, Jang A, Kim HK. “Porcine skin gelatin hydrolysate promotes longitudinal bone growth in adolescent rats.” J Med Food. (2013) May; 16(5): 447-53.

Wu J, Fujioka M, Sugimoto K, Mu G, Ishimi Y. “Assessment of effectiveness of oral administration of collagen peptide on bone metabolism in growing and mature rats”. J Bone Miner Metab. (2004); 22(6):547-53.

Adam M., Spacek P., Hulejova H., Galianova A., Blahos J. “Postmenopausal osteoporosis. Treatment with calcitonine and a diet rich in cartilage proteins”. Cas Lèk ces. (1996), 135: 74-8.

Wu, W. et al. “Phosphorylation of porcine bone collagen peptide to improve its calcium chelating capacity and its effect on promoting the proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells” Journal of Functional Foods,Volume 64, 2020,103701.

Liu, J. et al “Combined Oral Administration of Bovine Collagen Peptides with Calcium Citrate Inhibits Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Rats”. PLOS ONE. 2015 Aug 10;10(8):e0135019.

Liu J, Wang J, Guo Y. “Effect of Collagen Peptide, Alone and in Combination with Calcium Citrate, on Bone Loss in Tail-Suspended Rats”. 2020 Feb 12;25(4):782.

Hooshmand, S. et al. “Evidence for Bone Reversal Properties of a Calcium- Collagen Chelate, a Novel Dietary Supplement” J Food Nutr Disor 2013, 2:1.

Elam, ML. et al. “A calcium-collagen chelate dietary supplement attenuates bone loss in postmenopausal women with osteopenia: a randomized controlled trial” J Med Food 00 (0) 2014, 1–8.

Martin-Bautista, E. et al. “A nutritional intervention study with hydrolyzed collagen in pre-pubertal Spanish children: influence on bone modelling biomarkers” J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2011;24(3-4):147-53.