Effects of Vitamin C Enriched Hydrolyzed Collagen, PrimaColl™, Whey Protein, or Placebo on Collagen Synthesis

Investigating the Effects of 24-hours of Repeated Doses of Vitamin C Enriched Hydrolyzed Collagen, PrimaColl™, Whey Protein, or Placebo on Collagen Synthesis

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of repeated dosing vitamin C enriched hydrolyzed collagen (HC) over a 24hr period, compared to PrimaColl™ (PC), whey protein (WP) and placebo (PL), with prescribed exercise on collagen synthesis.

To achieve this, participants will consume a supplemental dose of HC (20g with 50mg vitamin C), PC (20g with 50mg vitamin C), whey protein (20g whey isolate with 50mg vitamin C) or a placebo (20g maltodextrin with 50mg vitamin C) 1hr prior to an exercise bout (6 minutes of jump rope), this will be repeated three times over a 24h period.

The amount of collagen protein synthesized will be indirectly measured by measuring pro-collagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) in the serum before and 4hrs after the last exercise bout.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Effect of Food Supplement
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Placebo; Dietary supplement: Hydrolized Collagen; Dietary supplement: PrimaColl; Dietary supplement: Whey protein

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of repeated dosing of vitamin C enriched hydrolyzed collagen (HC) over a 24hr period, compared to PrimaColl™ (PC), whey protein (WP) and placebo (PL), with prescribed exercise on collagen synthesis.

To achieve this, participants will consume a supplemental dose of HC (20g with 50mg vitamin C), PC (20g with 50mg vitamin C), whey protein (20g whey isolate with 50mg vitamin C) or a placebo (20g maltodextrin with 50mg vitamin C) 1hr prior to exercise bouts (6 minutes of jump rope). The amount of collagen protein synthesized will be indirectly measured by measuring procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) in the serum before and 4hrs after the last exercise bout.

It is expected that this project will determine whether greater increases in collagen synthesis are observed with repeated doses of HC and exercise, compared with a single dose and exercise bout (from previous research). This study will also determine whether collagen synthesis is similarly stimulated with PrimaColl, or whey protein. Results from this study will help to better prescribe the use of dietary collagen and exercise training to improve collagen synthesis in healthy young people. Improved collagen synthesis has the potential to decrease ligament, tendon, and bone injuries in the general and athletic populations.

Male and female participants between the ages of 18-30 years of age will be enrolled in the study. A randomized double-blind crossover design with neither the subjects nor the investigators knowing who is on which treatment (HC, PC, WP or PL).

I. Baseline blood draw

The subjects will arrive in the laboratory following an overnight fast. The antecubital vein will be cannulated, and an initial 5 mL baseline blood sample will be collected.

II. Supplementation

After baseline blood draw subjects will be provided with a supplement as shown in the table below. Subjects will be asked to consume the supplement that will be pre-mixed with 250 ml of water 60 min before the jump rope exercise. This will be repeated 3 times, separated by 12 hours over a 24h period.

III. Exercise

Sixty minutes after the ingestion of the supplement, each participant will complete 6 minutes of jump rope. This will be repeated on 3 occasions over a 24hr period. Subjects will be asked to abstain from vigorous exercise during the 24hr period, aside from the prescribed jump rope exercise.

Subjects will be asked to ingest supplement and jump rope in lab for time point 1. Subjects will be given the option to ingest supplement and jump rope outside lab if more conducive to their scheduling restrictions at time points 2 and 3 blood draws are not required at these timepoints. Subjects will be asked to return to the lab 4 hours after last jumping session for blood sampling.

Blood draws for PNIP analysis

Blood samples (5 mL) at different time points:

• Baseline 2 vials will be drawn (1 for PINP and the other for bioassays)
• 1h after the first supplementation 1 vial will be drawn (bioassay)
• 4hrs post-exercise session number 3 the last vial will be drawn (PINP) Blood will be collected in 5 mL serum separating tubes and allowed to clot for 1hr before centrifugation at 1000 x g for 10 minutes and the serum will be frozen and kept at -30°C until processed. PINP levels will be determined by electrochemiluminescence (ECL; Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The total number of blood draws will be 12 (3 per intervention with 4 interventions). Treatments will be randomized to avoid an order effect and a washout period of about 72h between trials will be used to minimize the effect of the previous treatment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Davis, California, United States, 95616
      • Hickey Laboratory

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy active male or female
• normal weight (BMI between 18 and 25 kg/m2)

Exclusion Criteria:

• taking any medication that may interfere with the study
• have a history of more than 3 musculoskeletal injuries within the past 12 months
• have any health or dietary restriction that would be affected by the supplementation protocol

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; This arm will be given a placebo (20g maltodextrin with 50mg vitamin C)	Dietary supplement: Placebo; The participant will consume a supplemental dose of a placebo (20g maltodextrin with 50mg vitamin C); Other Names: maltodextrin
Experimental: Hydrolized Collagen; This arm will be given Hydrolized Collagen (20g with 50mg vitamin C)	Dietary supplement: Hydrolized Collagen; The participant will consume a supplemental dose of Hydrolized collagen (20g with 50mg vitamin C)
Experimental: PrimaColl; This arm will be given PrimaColl, a vegan collagen supplementation (20g with 50mg vitamin C)	Dietary supplement: PrimaColl; The participant will consume a supplemental dose of PrimaColl, a vegan collagen supplementation (20g with 50mg vitamin C)
Experimental: Whey Protein; This arm will be given whey protein (20g with 50mg vitamin C)	Dietary supplement: Whey protein; The participant will consume a supplemental dose of whey protein (20g whey isolate with 50mg vitamin C)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Collagen protein synthesis	Collagen protein synthesis will be indirectly measured by measuring pro-collagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) in the serum before and 4 hours after the last exercise bout (at 28 hours of the protocol)	Baseline (0 hour) to 4 hours after last exercise bout (at 28 hour of the protocol)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Ligament collagen content	Serum from participants will be used to treat engineered ligaments in order to assess the effect of the different supplementation on the ligament collagen content using a hydroxyproline assay kit.	Baseline (0 hour) to directly after consumption of supplementation (1 hour)
Strength of engineered ligaments	Serum from participants will be used to treat engineered ligaments in order to measure the effect of the different supplementation on the strength of the ligaments, the strength will be measured using the Instron bio puls 68SC-1 tension and compression machine.	Baseline (0 hour) to directly after consumption of supplementation (1 hour)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Davis
• Collaborators: Geltor
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Keith Baar, PhD, UC Davis

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 5, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 9, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 16, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): June 22, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise; Supplementation; Collagen synthesis; Engineered ligaments
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Motor Activity; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; Proteins; Food; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Food and Beverages; Dairy Products; Milk; Dietary Proteins; Milk Proteins; Animal Proteins, Dietary; Whey; maltodextrin; Whey Proteins
• Other Study ID Numbers: 220518

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No