Fish-derived collagen has recently emerged as an alternative collagen source with bioactive properties, including the enhancement of hair and skin health. It is also cost-effective and has high bioavailability, in addition to having fewer ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Low-molecular-weight collagen peptides (CPs) supplementation has recently garnered increasing attention due to its potential health benefits including hair/skin health [
27,
28,
29,
30,
31,
32,
33]. Particularly, fish-derived CPs possess some advantages over conventional collagen sources, including a higher collagen content, environmental friendliness, low toxicity, low inflammatory response, greater absorbability due to its low molecular weight, less religious and ethical constraints, and less regulatory and quality control problems [
34,
35]. Patients suffering from hair loss often complain about scalp pruritus, scalp scaling, scalp irritation, undesirable hair texture, and the need to apply medication twice a day. However, research on hair growth therapies has mostly focused on direct topical treatments, whereas oral treatments have remained largely unexplored [
36]. Among fish CPs, CP extracted from the scales of the Mozambique tilapia (
Oreochromis mossambicus) has been reported to possess several bioactive properties such as hair cell proliferation [
37], antioxidant [
38], and wound healing effects [
39]. In previous studies, bioactive CPs have been reported to enhance hair thickness and follicle cell proliferation, in addition to improving hair dryness and dullness [
29,
30,
40].
Effect of CP on Cell Proliferation of Human Dermal Papilla Cell
To evaluate the safety of CP administration, the proliferation rate of hDPCs was evaluated at various concentrations of CP (
Figure 1). The cell proliferation rate of the NC group was adjusted to 100 as a reference and all other treatments were reported as relative values. The CP 62.5 ppm group exhibited the highest hDPCs proliferation rate (113.98 ± 1.44%). More importantly, this value was not significantly different from the PC group. The CP 7.81–125 ppm groups exhibited similar cell proliferation rates, all of which were higher than that of the NC group (
p < 0.05). CP showed a higher cell proliferation than NC at all concentrations except 3.91 ppm.
In contrast, cell proliferation rates remained high even at a high CP concentration of 250 ppm. Therefore, fish CP is considered safe within a 3.91–250 ppm range and effectively induces the anagen phase of hair follicles by promoting hDPCs proliferation.
Hair growth could be regulated by modulating the hair cycle, such as by prolonging the anagen phase and promoting the telogen-to-anagen transition [
46]. The C57BL/6 mice possess melanocytes only in the hair follicles,
and therefore, melanin synthesis coincides with the hair growth cycle. Thus, the hair growth cycle can be easily characterized by simply monitoring the transition of the skin color from pink (no hair) to black (fully grown hair) [
48]. During the telogen phase, the dorsal skin color of the mouse was pink, but shifted to gray and black over the course of a few weeks [
49]. The hair regrowth score of mice orally treated with CP was significantly higher than that of untreated mice. The black, full-grown areas were also wider in the CP-treated mice than in the controls. These findings, thus, confirm that oral intake of fish CP promotes the telogen-to-anagen transition. The size and location of hair follicles vary according to each cycle of the anagen phase, catagen phase, and telogen phase [
49]. In the anagen phase, the dermal papilla and hair bulb are large and located in the deep subcutaneous tissue. In the telogen phase, however, the dermal papilla is small and the hair follicle is located in the dermis close to the epidermis [
49,
50]. The hair follicles in the NC group were located in the epidermis, whereas hair follicles in the CP groups were mostly located deep in the subcutaneous tissue. These observations suggest that fish CP induces the anagen phase.
The hair cycle is regulated by specific cytokines, which affect the growth of mesenchymal-cell-derived DPCs. In turn, the affected DPCs release factors that either inhibit or promote the growth of follicular epithelial cells [
41,
45]. IGF-1, which is widely known as a hair-growth-promoting factor, promotes the proliferation of hair follicle epithelial cells and inhibits the anagen-to-catagen transition of hair follicles. Additionally, VEGF, a known hair growth factor, has been shown to increase follicle size and hair thickness by inducing the differentiation of hair root cells through the improvement of blood circulation [
41,
42,
43]. Conversely, TGF-β1, known as a hair growth inhibitory factor, causes hair loss by inducing apoptosis, increasing the number of telogen hair follicles, and promoting entry into the catagen phase [
13,
20,
44,
51,
52]. Our findings confirmed that the mRNA expressions of IGF-1 and VEGF of the CP-treated groups were upregulated compared to the PC group, whereas TGF-β1 was downregulated. In previous studies, increased mRNA levels of IGF-1 and VEGF, and decreased levels of TGF-β1 were associated with hair-growth-promoting effects [
11,
53]. Many studies have evaluated the effects of several compounds in a variety of presentations (e.g., ampoules, sprays, and ointments) on hair growth. However, little is known regarding the effectiveness of orally administered compounds for the treatment of hair loss. Previous studies have demonstrated that oral CP administration can improve microcirculation and increase blood supply, which could have an effect on the metabolism of the hair cells and subsequently lead to increased hair thickness [
29]. Here, we confirmed that oral fish CP administration promoted the expression of hair-growth-promoting factors while suppressing the expression of hair growth inhibitory factors, thereby affecting hair growth.
Most studies on hair loss treatment have mainly targeted topical treatments rather than oral supplementation. A few studies had preliminarily explored the effects of oral CP intake on hair growth. However, adequate nutrient intake is also critical to enhance the turnover rates and metabolic activity on hair follicles [
4]. For example, keratin is a primary component of hair, and its synthesis requires adequate protein intake to maintain sufficient levels in the body. Furthermore, in a previous study, low levels of amino acids were associated with hair loss [
2]. CP contains high levels of proline-hydroxyproline (Pro-Hyp) dipeptide, which enhances cell proliferation and hyaluronic acid synthesis in human dermal fibroblasts [
54]. Oral administration of low-molecular-weight CP, which is a fish-derived collagen hydrolysate, regulated the synthesis of amino acids such as hyaluronic acid and hydroxyproline, thereby restoring skin damage caused by UVB irradiation and increasing skin moisture [
45,
46]. Moreover, fish CP promoted the recovery of collagen fibers and normal elastic fibers in the skin from degraded collagen and abnormal elastic fibers caused by UVB irradiation [
55]. Another study suggested that an oral composite supplement containing fish derived-CP and ornithine improves skin conditions by increasing plasma IGF-1 levels after 8 weeks of supplementation. Specifically, IGF-1 is known to activate cell growth both during epidermal and dermal skin development and maintenance [
56].
Dosages used for the mice: either 500mg/kg or 1000 mg/kg which to convert to humans divide by 12. or about 40-80 mg/kg or 4-8 grams per day for a 100 kg human.
Here are a couple sources:
Our Pure Marine Hydrolyzed Fish Collagen Peptide Powder contains Hydrolyzed Fish Collagen (HFC) naturally supplying the body with 18 collagen amino acids.
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