Exploring marine collagen: Sustainable sourcing, extraction methods, and cosmetic applications

The predominant sources of collagen for cosmetic purposes were traditionally derived from bovine and porcine products, such as bones, tendons, and connective tissues. However, these sources are gradually declining in popularity due to their restricted availability, religious constraints, and disease-related concerns. Consequently, there is an urgent necessity to explore alternative sustainable collagen sources. Marine species offer a promising and sustainable supply for alternative collagen sources due to lower risk of disease transmission, freedom from religious restrictions, biocompatibility, lower molecular weight, lower production costs, and simpler absorption by the human body. This review objective highlights to explore potential collagen sources from marine resources (fishes, poriferans, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and coelenterates) for cosmetic applications. A variety of marine collagen sources with different extraction techniques will be compared. The study finds that fish by-products, particularly skins and bones, are becoming a very encouraging sustainable collagen source contrasted with other alternatives. They exhibit a significant collagen content, comprising up to 61.26% of their dry weight under acid-soluble collagen (ASC) extraction method. Fish skin and bone-derived collagen is mostly composed of type I collagen and has been proven to possess notable capabilities as an antioxidant, anti-aging, and skin-whitening agent. Therefore, the utilization of marine collagen as a key ingredient in cosmetics promotes responsible sourcing, encourages eco-friendly practices, and fosters a circular economy by making the most of underutilized marine materials.