Five letter and number combinations, a figure with a unit nobody else uses, and somewhere in small print an ingredient list. If you pick up a pack of collagen powder, you are holding a label that only makes sense once you know what to look for. Type I, II, III, V, X. 500 Dalton. Multi-collagen.
We will go through this from the beginning. By the end you will know which figure describes an origin, which one describes processing, and which single ingredient says more about quality than the whole list of types put together.
Collagen is not one substance, it is a family
More than 28 collagen types are known. Five of them show up regularly on product labels. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and makes up around a third of its total protein content. It is the building material of connective tissue: skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bone matrix, vessel walls.
Because these tissues have very different demands, skin has to stretch, cartilage has to resist pressure, tendons have to resist pulling, there are different variants. The type on the label is therefore not a quality grade but a statement of origin: it tells you which tissue the collagen comes from.
The five types at a glance
| Type | Mainly found in | Source in our formula |
|---|---|---|
| Type I | Skin, tendons, ligaments, bone matrix. The most common type in the body | Grass fed beef, fish, eggshell membrane |
| Type II | Cartilage tissue | Chicken |
| Type III | Often together with type I: skin, vessel walls, internal organs | Grass fed beef |
| Type V | Cell surfaces, hair structure, placenta | Eggshell membrane |
| Type X | Mineralising cartilage, growth plates | Eggshell membrane |
Types I and III make up the largest share of connective tissue and are therefore found in almost every collagen product. Type II comes from a different source and is often sold separately. Types V and X occur in much smaller amounts. They usually appear when eggshell membrane is part of the formula.
A multi-collagen covers the range that is also present in the body. A single type is the narrower choice if you specifically want one source, for example because of an intolerance or a preference for fish collagen.
What hydrolysed means on the label
Native collagen consists of very large molecules twisted into fibres. In hydrolysis these chains are broken down enzymatically into smaller fragments, the collagen peptides. Their size is given in Dalton: the lower the value, the smaller the peptides.
That is also the reason a hydrolysate stirs into cold liquid and does not gel like gelatine. Anyone who has watched gelatine clump in cold water knows the difference in practice.
And now the ingredient that matters
Your body builds collagen itself. For that it needs vitamin C.
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones, cartilage, gums, teeth and blood vessels.
So when you compare products it is worth looking further down the ingredient list instead of at the big number on the front: is vitamin C in there at all, and in what amount? A collagen product without vitamin C leaves out a component that is needed for the body's own collagen formation. There is more on this in the post on collagen and vitamin C.
It is similar with biotin, which good formulas also include:
Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin and normal hair.
Our collagen powder complex
The Vitabay Multi Collagen Complex brings together all five types described here: I, II, III, V and X, from four natural collagen sources, with a peptide structure of 500 Dalton. The beef collagen comes from pasture-raised cattle (grass fed).
A daily portion of 20 g contains:
- 19.8 g multi-collagen hydrolysate (type I, II, III, V, X)
- 100 mg vitamin C, which contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin
- 454.5 µg biotin, which contributes to the maintenance of normal skin and normal hair
- 100 mg hyaluronic acid produced by fermentation
The 1 kg pouch is 50 daily portions. Neutral in taste, dissolves cold, works in water, coffee, a smoothie or yoghurt. How to fit the portion into your day, and why the price per day rather than the pack price is what counts when comparing, is in the post on how to use it. Lab-tested in Germany, developed in a family-run company, since 1999.
The label, once more from the top
The list of types tells you which tissues the collagen comes from. The Dalton figure tells you how finely it has been broken down and whether it dissolves cold. And the line with vitamin C tells you whether someone thought the formula through to the end. That is the order we would compare in ourselves.
Sources: Reference intakes according to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (FIC), Annex XIII. Authorised claims according to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
Food supplements are not a substitute for a balanced, varied diet and a healthy lifestyle.
