Oral Intake of Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides Reduces Skin Wrinkles and Increases Dermal Matrix Synthesis

Dietary consumption of food supplements has been found to modulate skin functions and can therefore be useful in the treatment of skin aging. However, there is only a limited number of clinical studies supporting these claims. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the effectiveness of the specific bioactive collagen peptide (BCP) VERISOL® on eye wrinkle formation and stimulation of procollagen I, elastin and fibrillin biosynthesis in the skin was assessed. A hundred and fourteen women aged 45-65 years were randomized to receive 2.5 g of BCP or placebo, once daily for 8 weeks, with 57 subjects being allocated to each treatment group. Skin wrinkles were objectively measured in all subjects, before starting the treatment, after 4 and 8 weeks as well as 4 weeks after the last intake (4-week regression phase). A subgroup was established for suction blister biopsies analyzing procollagen I, elastin and fibrillin at the beginning of the treatment and after 8 weeks of intake. The ingestion of the specific BCP used in this study promoted a statistically significant reduction of eye wrinkle volume (p < 0.05) in comparison to the placebo group after 4 and 8 weeks (20%) of intake. Moreover a positive long-lasting effect was observed 4 weeks after the last BCP administration (p < 0.05). Additionally, after 8 weeks of intake a statistically significantly higher content of procollagen type I (65%) and elastin (18%) in the BCP-treated volunteers compared to the placebo-treated patients was detected. For fibrillin, a 6% increase could be determined after BCP treatment compared to the placebo, but this effect failed to reach the level of statistical significance. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that the oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides (Verisol®) reduced skin wrinkles and had positive effects on dermal matrix synthesis.