In the randomized, placebo-controlled study, which was published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, a research team that included AIBMR senior director Alexander Schauss, PhD, recruited 128 women between the ages of 39 to 59. All had visible signs of skin aging. Of the 128 women who began, 113 completed the study.
The participants were divided into two groups. One group consumed a twice daily placebo for the 12 week period, while the other group consumed BioCell Collagen 500 mg capsules composed of a naturally occurring matrix of hydrolyzed collagen type-II (≧ 300 mg), chondroitin sulfate (≧ 100 mg), hyaluronic acid (≧ 50 mg).
Skin appearance, elasticity and water retention measured
The study was conducted at what the researchers called a “dermatological facility” that had the capability of doing skin aging measurements, including measurements of skin elasticity, transepidermal water loss, an indirect measurement of collagen content and a photographic analysis of each subject’s skin.
A dermatological expert graded each participant’s skin to determine the value of the intervention. This included measuring facial lines and wrinkles, crow's feet lines and wrinkles, skin texture and smoothness, and skin tone.
Schauss said the results showed unequivocally that the intervention provided a significant benefit.
“This landmark research is especially encouraging for women who are seeking safe and effective options for meeting their skin health and appearance goals, including those who are considering or already using cosmetic procedures to address skin aging,” he said.
Among the specific improvements measured where:
- Increased skin collagen content by 12%
- Significantly reduced facial lines and wrinkles in women
- Reduced the width of crow's feet and wrinkles compared to placebo
- Improved skin elasticity in women compared to placebo.
BioCell has done other research on its ingredient beyond beauty applications, which for years has been the sweet spot for this protein. In 2015 the company did a pilot trial showing that the ingredient (at a 3 gram a day dose) could help subjects recover better from bouts of heavy weight training.
Source: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
September/ October 2019, Volume 25, Number 5, Pages 12-29
“Novel Hydrolyzed Chicken Sternal Cartilage Extract Improves Facial Epidermis and Connective Tissue in Healthy Adult Females: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial”
Authors: S.R. Schwartz et al.
