Gelatine and collagen: structure, bioactivities and uses
What it found
Collagen and gelatin have long been used in food, medicines and cosmetics, and newer work looks at fish sources and at peptides formed after they are eaten.
Lab and animal studies suggest these peptides may have biological effects on cells.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Peptides after eating
After being eaten, food-derived peptides may act on cells in the extracellular matrix. This is in addition to collagen's known value as a protein source.
Studies in people and animals
Bioactivities studied
Many studies have looked at biological effects of collagen, gelatin and their hydrolysis peptides. These used both lab tests and live animal models.
Other findings
Structure varies by source
The structure of collagen can differ depending on the source and the season. This may affect how it is used and the best conditions for extracting it.
Reading structure data
Modern technologies have been used to study collagen structure. The authors say raw data should be interpreted with caution.
New uses
An increasing number of new applications have been found for collagen and gelatin.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that the potential biological activities of food-derived peptides might justify using collagen and collagen-derived products in dietary supplements and pharmaceutical preparations.
- They note that collagen and gelatin are already widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
How it was done
Collagen and gelatin are widely used because the body tolerates them well, they break down easily and provoke only weak immune reactions. Fish collagen and gelatin are of renewed interest because of safety and religious concerns about mammalian sources.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of other studies, not a new experiment, so it cannot prove that eating gelatin causes any particular health effect.
- The biological effects described come from lab tests and animal models, which cannot show what happens in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Jiangnan University, China
The paper
- Title
- Collagen and gelatin
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Liu D, Nikoo M, Boran G, Zhou P, Regenstein JM (2015). Collagen and gelatin. Annual review of food science and technology. doi:10.1146/annurev-food-031414-111800PubMed 25884286DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error