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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

A 12-week trial of a collagen-blend drink in 72 women found better skin hydration

Bolke and colleagues · Nutrients · 2019

Original title: A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Points to benefit

The drink group had better skin hydration, elasticity, roughness and density than placebo after twelve weeks. The gains were largely kept four weeks after stopping.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
72 people · 72 healthy women aged 35 or older
What was tested
A drink with 2.5 g collagen peptides plus vitamin C, zinc, biotin and other ingredients, for 12 weeks, vs placebo
What it measured
The question itself: skin wrinkles, elasticity and hydration
Daily amount
2.5 g a day
How long
12 weeks
Who has a stake
Company stake
Tests ELASTEN by QUIRIS Healthcare; COI mentions an unnamed sponsor. Authors declare no conflict.
Journal
Nutrients, 2019
Source
PubMed record 31627309. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 72 people.
  • •Lasted 12 weeks.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: skin wrinkles, elasticity and hydration.
  • –Company stake: Tests ELASTEN by QUIRIS Healthcare; COI mentions an unnamed sponsor. Authors declare no conflict.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: wrinkles, skin elasticity and moisture

    15

    13 benefit, 2 mixed

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    1

    1 benefit

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does collagen reduce skin aging?”

Unclear; higher-quality trials found no effect.

Confidence: low. Based on 22 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 14 papers on the same step: 12 benefit, 2 mixed. This one found benefit. It agrees with most of them.

  • Quoted in “What we found”: Several tested drinks mixed collagen with vitamin C, zinc, biotin or joint compounds, so the effect of collagen alone cannot be separated.
  • Part of the finding “Many products were blends or company-linked”.
  • Open item for a person: Bolke 2019: COI mentions an unnamed sponsor; confirm whether it is QUIRIS Healthcare, maker of the tested ELASTEN drink.

Other papers on the same step

See all 22 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 3 fields after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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