Special edition: Bone & Joint Health
Collagen
Another ingredient with science to support its joint health potential is collagen. Some companies have specialty ingredients for joint health, including Rousselot’s Peptan, Gelita’s Fortigel, InterHealth’s undenatured type II collagen UC-II and Biocell Collagen.
A 2014 study from Chinese researchers found that supplementation with Rousselot’s Peptan ingredient for 6 months produced significant reductions in joint pain and improvements in physical mobility in people with knee osteoarthritis ( Jiang, et al. Agro Food Industry Hi Tech, 2014, Vol. 25(2): pp.20–21).
For Fortigel, a 2013 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (10(Suppl 1): P23) concluded that Fortigel supplementation produced statistically significant stimulatory effects on the biosynthesis of extracellular matrix molecules in tendons and ligament cells.
For UC-II a 2013 paper published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2013, 10:48) found that supplements containing the ingredient may boost joint comfort in healthy individuals who only experience discomfort with exercise. This followed a 2009 paper in International Journal of Medical Sciences (Vol. 6, pp. 312-321), which found that supplements containing the ingredient may improve joint flexibility as assessed by knee extension, compared to placebo.
A study by AIBMR’s Dr Alex Schauss found that daily supplements of BioCell Collagen reduced pain and other symptoms of osteoarthritis. Results published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2012, Vol. 60, pp 4096–4101) indicated that 70 days of supplementation produced significant pain reductions in 35% of the study participants, compared with only 16% in the placebo group.
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