Nowadays, there are many varieties of collagen, but which one is more suitable for consumers to take? There are two professional terms that everyone must know: collagen polypeptide and collagen oligopeptide. I saw the advertising words of collagen products on the Internet, including collagen oligopeptides and collagen polypeptides. I am not very clear about this, so I want to ask what oligopeptides and polypeptides mean? What's the difference between them? Which one is better absorbed?
Regarding the differences between collagen oligopeptides and polypeptides, the following is an excerpt from an expert in Beijing. Hopefully, this will give a deeper understanding of collagen to beauty-loving women.
Firstly, Dalton is the molecular measurement unit of collagen, with the English abbreviation D. Collagen with a molecular weight less than 130D belongs to amino acids rather than proteins (collagen is a type of protein), so the molecular weight of collagen must be above 130D. Collagen with a molecular weight between 130-1000D belongs to oligopeptides, 1000-8000D belongs to polypeptides, and those with a molecular weight over 8000D belong to large molecular proteins. In fact, both collagen oligopeptides and polypeptides can be absorbed by the human body; it’s just that the absorption rate differs.
Scientific research shows that if the molecular weight of collagen is too large, it is difficult for the human body to absorb it. For example, the collagen we eat daily, such as pig trotters, generally has a very large molecular weight, so the amount of collagen absorbed by the human body is very limited. This is the reason why dietary supplementation of collagen does not have good effects. Often, supplementing collagen doesn't yield ideal results, leading to excessive nutrition and significant weight gain. Therefore, collagen with smaller molecular weights in collagen powder is easier for the human body to absorb. However, it is not true that the smaller the molecular weight of collagen, the better. Due to excessively small molecular weights, the structure of collagen tends to break down easily, the peptide chain stability is poor, and collagen may deteriorate, thus causing side effects. Scientific verification indicates that collagen with a molecular weight around 3000 Daltons is the easiest for the human body to absorb while maintaining good stability. Nowadays, many merchants on the market exploit the consumer misconception that smaller molecular weights are always better, labeling their products falsely as having 1000 or 500 Dalton so-called oligopeptides or even micropeptides collagen, sometimes even contradicting common sense in a laughable way. Especially in certain closed markets like some beauty salons, consumers are often misled by claims of small molecular weight collagen and end up buying inferior collagen at high prices.
In fact, collagen with a molecular weight less than 1000 is generally used in skincare products, such as collagen masks, which can be directly absorbed by the dermal layer of the skin. When taken orally, 3000D collagen is easier for the gastrointestinal tract to absorb, and the collagen absorption conversion rate is relatively higher.
By reading this, I believe you should now have a better understanding when purchasing collagen powder - whether smaller or larger molecular weights are better. You can go to professional websites to learn and understand more knowledge about collagen polypeptides and oligopeptides! More collagen information: http://www.qdesmay.com/Html/infoshow.asp?id=430 Article sourced from: How to distinguish between collagen polypeptides and oligopeptides?