Hydrolysed Collagen is collagen derived from animal bones, skin and cartilage. More specifically the Avesta Collagen drink is porcine; in other words, derived from pig. The reason we use pig collagen is because they are a genetically closer match to humans than bovine or marine animals.
The process of producing Hydrolysed Collagen from the original collagen source is called hydrolysis, which is a specialised and guarded process that can take many weeks or even months to complete. The process of hydrolysis involves acids, heat and the use of enzymes to break down individual molecular bonds between strands of collagen. The collagen is then left to soak for a long period of time to further break down the collagen bonds before being dehydrated and dried. This long, slow process results in small, intact peptides of amino acids which have not been damaged.
Hydrolysed Collagen or Collagen Hydrolysate is therefore collagen that has been treated and broken down into its basic amino acid level, this makes it the smallest most concentrated and bio-available form of collagen there is; otherwise known as collagen peptides. Hydrolysis reduces collagen proteins of 300,000 Da into tiny peptides with an average molecular weight between 2000 and 5000 Da; literally 60 times smaller! As a result hydrolysed collagen is easily absorbed and fully utilised in the body within 30 minutes.
The amino acid content of hydrolysate is exactly the same as collagen! We will take a closer look at Amino Acids and their importance in the next news blog post, coming soon.
Until then...
Martin