Collagen is found in the connective tissues in your body and is one of the most commonly occurring proteins in nature. Not only is it important for a healthy body, collagen also has a variety of uses in commerce and medicine, with more than 1,000 products containing collagen on the market today.
Identification
Collagen is the main protein found in connective tissue, supporting your bone, cartilage and blood vessels and composing up to 80 percent of your skin. There are more than 20 types of collagen in your body, each encoded by a specific gene.
History
A cache of collagen used as glue was found among the artifacts of an 8,000-year-old group of Neolithic cavemen who lived near the Dead Sea. The molecular structure of collagen was first identified in the mid-1930s, which led to its use in various medical procedures. In the 1970s, a group of biochemists and physicians at Stanford University researching alternatives to skin grafts developed collagen as a substance to replace lost skin tissue, leading to its widespread use in cosmetic procedures.
Significance
Defects in normal collagen production can lead to collagen vascular diseases such as dermatomyositis, polyarteritis nodosa, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus. Symptoms of these diseases can include anemia, fever, joint inflammation and weakness. Collagen is also one reason the plastic surgery industry is big business. As you age, collagen begins to break down in your skin, and its ability to develop healthy new collagen diminishes, leading to thinner skin and wrinkling.
Uses
In addition to glue, some of the industrial uses of collagen include pharmaceutical, cosmetic and photographic products, as well as gelatin in foods. Collagen is also used in a variety of medical products and procedures, although one of the most common is skin injections to repair skin damage from aging. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 174,290 collagen injections performed in the United States in 2007.
Expert Insight
Collagen has large amounts of two amino acids, hydroxylysine and hydroxyproline. Although research hasn't discovered a link between any health benefits and eating collagen-rich foods, according to the World's Healthiest Foods, consuming foods high in lysine and proline -- such as such as egg whites and wheat germ -- may have potential for collagen support. Research already conducted has found other potential and practical uses for collagen, with potential for improving human health. A study at MIT led by associate professor Collin Stultz discovered that the rigid structural protein of collagen can switch to a floppy shape, leading to new treatments for heart disease. Professor Oded Shoseyov of Hebrew University of Jerusalem reproduced a replica of human collagen from tobacco plants, which has commercial implications for use in a variety of human medical procedures. In 2008, scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease led by Dr. Lennart Mucke discovered that a certain type of collagen protects brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins, which are thought to cause Alzheimer's disease. Collagen was also used by May Griffith et al at Linkoping University in Sweden to create implants made from collagen that restored eyesight to patients with damaged corneas.
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