Study5 (Salmon Undenatured Collagens)

Efficacy of Undenatured Collagens (Type II and XI) derived from salmon nasal cartilage on knee discomfort in healthy volunteers —A randomized, double—blind, placebo—controlled intergroup trial—

Yuji Kuriyama, Yasushi Yoshida
Department of General Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine

Abstract

Objectives This trial was conducted to investigate whether intake of undenatured type II and XI collagen derived from salmon nasal cartilage can ameliorate discomfort in the knee joints in healthy individuals.
Methods In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, intergroup trial, the subjects were randomly allocated to receive a 10mg/day of undenatured collagen or placebo for 16 weeks. The primary outcomes included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores in five different situations. The secondary outcomes were scores on 10-time-repeated exercise tests and the levels of biomarker serum CPII, urinary CTX-II, and serum C1,2C. The subject selection was conducted in a strict way for exclusion of patients with knee problems.
Results Each group consisted of 25 subjects. There was a significant difference in changes from week 0 to week 16 in the VAS score at walking between the undenatured collagen group and the placebo group (P=0.04). Hierarchical analyses for the subjects >50 years of age (excluding those with no pain or strong discomfort at week 0) indicated the efficacy of undenatured collagen with between-group differences in changes in VAS scores at going up and down stairs (P=0.01) and in the squat scores of 10-time-repeated exercise tests at week 16 (P=0.04). A biomarker ratio for type II collagen degradation/syntheses (CTX-II/CPII) also showed a between-group difference at week 16 (P=0.04).
Conclusions This trial showed that the intake of undenatured collagen derived from salmon nasal cartilage can ameliorate and prevent discomfort in the knee joints at walking, as well as discomfort caused by bending and stretching of the knee joints, such as using stairs and doing squat, in persons 50 years of age or older. This efficacy was supported by the results of biomarker assessment.
(UMIN ID: UMIN000041641)

Japanese Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2023 51(6): 909-920.