Gelatine boosts collagen synthesis
arthritic disease? New research from Germany supports previous
evidence and suggests that gelatine could stimulate collagen
synthesis in cartilage cells.
Can gelatine play a role in preventing and treating degenerative arthritic disease? New research suggests that gelatine could stimulate collagen synthesis in cartilage cells.
Physiologists Dr Oesser and Professor Seifert at the university of Kiel in Germany explained the physiological basis for these observations in a recently published laboratory study, Cell Tissue Res 311:393-399, March 2003, on freshly isolated chondrocytes from cartilage. The enrichment of the cell culture medium with collagen hydrolysate led to a significant stimulation of the synthesis of collagen in cartilage cells, report the authors.
For the experiment, mature bovine chondrocytes were preincubated in the basal cell medium for three days. The medium was then replaced with a medium supplemented with collagen hydrolysate, provided by German gelatine company DGF STOESS, and the controls were replaced with a medium containing no collagen or a medium with collagen-free protein hydrolysate. Incubation then continued for eight days. The scientists measured the synthesis of collagen in the medium using immunocytochemical detection and by demonstrating the formation of isotopically labelled amino acids.
According to DGF STOESS, the results confirmed that the addition of collagen hydrolysate to the culture medium led to an up to 2.5 fold dose dependent increase in the secretion of collagen, which was not demonstrated in the controls.
For the researchers, the results reveal a possible mechanism for the complex regulation of collagen turnover in the joint. The results further suggest that collagen degradation products could stimulate collagen synthesis in a positive feedback mechanism and induce the formation of new cartilage tissue.
"It is very plausible that collagen hydrolysate, when taken as a supplement to our normal diet, may activate the synthesis of collagen in cartilage. Particularly in situations in which cartilage is under massive stress the intake of collagen hydrolysate could be highly significant medically and reduce degenerative changes," commented Dr Steffen Oesser.
