Marketed as \u2018next generation collagen for skin beauty\u2019, the launch comes off the back of a newly published study comparing avvera to an established commercially-available collagen and suggesting it led to a greater reduction in wrinkles at the four week mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery often the customers these days are saying, okay, another collagen peptide. Nice. But what does it mean?\u201d said Hans-Ulrich Frech, commercial director, collagen peptides, at Italgel. \u201cThat\u2019s why we made this study not comparing with a placebo, but with another collagen peptide which is strong in the market.\u201d <\/p>\n
Funded by Italgel, researchers from contract research lab Bionos Biotech S.L, Spain, conducted a double-blind, parallel-group, eight-week study involving 67 healthy women (aged 38\u201366) who were randomized to receive 2.5 g\/day of either avvera or a comparison collagen peptide. <\/p>\n
Skin hydration (Corneometer), transepidermal water loss (TEWL; Tewameter), and crow\u2019s-feet wrinkle (VISIA-CR 3D imaging) parameters were assessed at baseline, day 28, and day 56. <\/p>\n
Published in the journal Nutrafoods, resulting data indicated both groups showed improvements in skin hydration at day 28 (29.2% for avvera vs 26.7% active control) and day 56 (43.5% for avvera vs 42.9% active control). <\/p>\n
The report concluded that avvera showed an earlier reduction in crow\u2019s-feet wrinkle area and length at day 28, but between-group differences were limited at day 56.<\/p>\n
Italgel claims avvera\u2019s fast action is a result of its trademarked production technology \u2018High-Dration System\u2019 which increases the amount of water stored in the skin while simultaneously reducing water loss via improved epidermal barrier function. <\/p>\n
\u201cWater retention is a typical value or a measurement, but what is rarely measured is the skin barrier function, which controls water loss,\u201d said Frech. <\/p>\n
The firm hopes to provide brands with a marketing advantage through its trademarked brand and technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not the only ones offering this kind of product, so offering a trademark license gives the opportunity to take into customers promotion,\u201d Frech said, adding that Italy brings connotations of quality and beauty.<\/p>\n
\u201cItaly is linked to all kinds of beauty and prestige, from fashion, to cars, to the beautiful city itself,\u201d said Frech. \u201cSpeaking to manufacturers in the US and Brazil, they say they love Italian products and one even wanted to use the Italian flag next to the trademark on pack.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, he argued its low daily dose of 2.5g makes the ingredient easy to integrate into a range of formats.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a lower daily dose supports the integration of the ingredient into multiple applications which fit into daily routines, such as a daily \u2018shot\u2019, or small sick packs, or gels,\u201d said Frech. <\/p>\n
Competitor comparison <\/p>\n
Both products evaluated in the study consisted of hydrolyzed bovine collagen, with a similar mean molecular weight of approximately 2.0 kDa (kilodalton). <\/p>\n
According to the report, a key distinction between the two lies in their enzymatic hydrolysis processes, which \u201cmay involve different enzyme types, combinations, processing sequences, reaction times, and conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report additionally included an in-vitro study in which human skin cells were incubated for 72 hours with the two preparations at two doses (0.1% and 0.01% w\/v).<\/p>\n
The resulting data indicated that the two doses of avvera increased pro-collagen I production by 92% and 84.3%, compared with increases of 68.4% and 31.6% for the active control. However, the report noted between-group differences were not statistically significant.<\/p>\n
Noted limitations of the study in the report included the relatively short duration and small sample size.<\/p>\n
The report concluded: \u201cCollectively, the measured improvements in hydration, TEWL, and early wrinkle metrics position avvera as a promising and clinically effective oral collagen peptide, delivering earlier-onset benefits than the active control under the conditions tested and providing a triple-endpoint profile (hydration, barrier function and wrinkles) that appears less frequently documented in the existing collagen peptide literature.\u201d<\/p>\n