The word "collagen" comes from Greek: "kolla" (glue) and "gennao" (I produce).  It is a group of naturally occuring proteins found in animals. It is a protein of youth which is responsible for our biological age, appearance, immunity to illnesses, and even for the way we feel.

 

Collagen has a form of elongated fibrils which can be found everywhere in our body: in tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, muscles, blood vessels, gut, even in cornea, dental matrices, hair and nails! We are literally swimming in collagen as an organism, because the cellular fluid, in which our tissues are submerged, is nothing else than collagen. It is also the main component of our connective tissue playing a fundamental role in holding the whole body together.

 

Collagen makes up over 30% of all protein mass in our body and the largest amount of it can be found in the skin (70% of the whole protein mass in the skin is collagen). It undergoes constant change: it dies and is simultaneously created and constantly supported by chondrocytes, keratinocytes and fibroblasts - the cellular production and renovation works for collagen. The fastest replacement happens in our liver (about a month), the slowest in our cartilage (over a year). In the skin it takes about 110-140 days for the collagen to be naturally replaced. Within a year, our organism replaces about 3kg of collagen in the whole body!

 

As long as collagen synthesis processes go efficiently, we stay young, beautiful and healthy.

Unfortunately from more or less when we turn 25, collagen production gradually slows down. Fibroblasts, keratinocytes and chondrocytes produce less and less collagen, some of these cells disappear with age, all of which has a huge impact on the condition of the whole organism.

 

A few symptoms of collagen deficiency:

• wrinkled skin

• cellulite

• pain in joints

• back pains

• varicose veins

• worsening eyesignt

• greying / loosing hair

• brittle nails

• slow skin regeneration

• dry skin  .... etc.

 

Our face is a mirror reflection of the condition of collagen in our body. Collagen together with elastin forms a water binding protein net which is responsible for firmness and elasticity and of course for proper skin moisturisation. When the net starts to weaken, that's when first wrinkles appear and the condition of our skin worsens.

 

COLLAGEN FORMATION PROCESS:

 

Collagen is built from amino acids:

• Two amino acids make dipeptide.

• Three amino acids make tripeptide.

• Ten amino acids make oligopeptide.

• A hundred and more amino acids make polypeptide.

• Polypeptides consisting of a hundred and more amino acids are considered proteins.

This gives us a single-strand collagen.

 

The name "collagen" is applied in biochemistry to proteins which include 19 types of amino acids and were 12 of them are andogenous amino acids (produced solely by vertebrates).

Therefore, the use of the term "collagen" with reference to vegetable proteins, for example, is an obvious misuse and marketing gibberish.

 

Amino acids present in collagen formation:

• Glycine

• Proline

• Hydroxyproline

• Hydroxylysine

(synthesis of the last two requires vitamin C !)

 

The joining of amino acids to form bigger peptides, until they become polypeptides, takes place in a productive cell, such as a fibroblast cell. Once they become a bigger chain (about 1000 amino acids in one chain) they leave the cell out to the extracellular space where they form helixes and later superhelixes (consisting of up to 3000 amino acids). Superhelixes make up a fibril, and fibrils form into fibres.

 

Here are some reminders, just for clarity:

• primary collagen - a polypeptide

• secondary collagen - a complex polypeptide, leaving the mother cell as a helix

• tertiary collagen - a triple helix of three polypeptide chains

• quartenary collagen - a fibril

• pentanary collagen - a fibre

 

Natural Collagen is a hydrate of a TERTIARY COLLAGEN.

At the helical stage, collagen of most vertebrates living on the Earth has nearly identical structure. Human collagen differs from the fish one only slightly by the composition of amino acids in only one of the chains in the sequence. Until the triple helical stage (still molecular stage) - collagen is dissolvable in a sense that it is able to connect water particles.