To answer the question which collagen is more sustainable, we need to understand the way in which both are sourced. Marine collagen as the name suggests is derived from marine life / fish which are further classified into vertebrates and invertebrates. The vertebrate category includes fish and marine mammals. Over the past couple of decades fish has emerged as an optimal source for collagen extraction¹, due to the possibility to reuse and add value to the abundant waste by-products of the fish processing industry².
Within aquaculture there is widespread scientific and industrial interest in developing waste recovery technologies to obtain high added value products, such as collagen and its derivatives, with low environmental impact³.
Collagen from aquatic sources and at present used in healthcare and food sectors is predominantly type I collagen, which is mostly derived from fish scales and skin. Type 1 collagen derived from fish collagen peptides is the highest, most bioavailable source of collagen available on the market. Furthermore, marine collagen production positively contributes to the environment by reducing waste and thus making collagen manufacturing as sustainable as possible.
Bovine collagen on the other hand is made from cowhide, which is the natural, unbleached skin of kettle. Typically, once the beef has been used for food production, collagen is extracted from the cow hides. Hence, bovine collagen is also sustainable, however cowhides have other applications, e.g. they are also used in various other industries, for example the car industry. Hence bovine collagen production doesn’t necessarily reduce waste, whereas marine collagen production cuts down on waste by-products of the fish processing industry and hence positively contributes to the environment.
At Wellness Lab, our marine collagen is ‘type 1’ and ‘type 3’ and it delivers 10.000 mg of collagen protein per serving. It contains all 8 of 9 Essential Amino Acids. Our marine collagen is processed in the EU and then packaged in the UK. Marine Collagen is considered the purest form of collagen mainly due to its hydrolysis which breaks the collagen down into a very low molecular weight without losing its amino acids in the process. This makes it easier for us to digest therefore it’s a highly bioavailable form of collagen.
Explore Wellness Lab’s range of marine collagen products here.
1. Collagen and Gelatin from Fish Processing By-Products for Biomedical Applications | SpringerLink
2. Collagen Derived from Fish Industry Waste | Encyclopedia MDPI
3. Thermal and Chemical Properties of Gelatin from Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Scale: Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology: Vol 27 , No 10 - Get Access (tandfonline.com)