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17.11.2017

Hydrolysed collagen Verisol strengthens brittle nails

A daily dose of 2.5 g of the gelatin-protein Verisol - which you can buy in any chemists or health food shop - restores brittle nails to health. Brazilian researchers will publish an article about it soon in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. The Brazilians gave Verisol to human participants, were supervised by the manufacturer of Verisol, and didn't bother with a placebo group.

Study
The researchers, who worked at a cosmetic clinic in Brazil, gave 25 women with brittle nails 2.5 g of the collagen peptide Verisol every day for 24 weeks. Verisol consists of chopped up type-1 collagen from pig gelatin. Gelita oversaw the study and probably paid the researchers too.

At the end of the supplementation period the researchers monitored the women for another four weeks.

Results
After 12 weeks of taking the supplement, both participants and researchers noticed that the nails had become less brittle and flaky.

The number of times that the participants tore a nail decreased during the 24-week supplementation period from 10 times to 6 times a month. And that effect continued for four weeks after stopping supplementation.

The nails started to grow faster too - and that effect was still seen four weeks after the participants had stopped taking the supplement.

Mechanism
"The formation of the nail plate requires epidermal proliferation and nail matrix differentiation", wrote the researchers. "Le Vu et al revealed that collagen peptides supplementation was associated with the development of the epidermis with a 5.3-fold enrichment. [Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2015;28(5):227-35.] It does so by upregulating genes such as Gprc, Krt, and Krtap, which code for structural componentsof epidermis and skin appendages such as hair, hair follicles, and nails. These findings suggest the potential benefits of bioactive collagen peptides treatment on nail growth."

"Experimental trials have shown that bioactive collagen peptides may improve the synthesis of important proteins for the epidermal barrier, turnover, and moisture. Treatment of epidermal skin cells (keratinocytes) led to an up-regulation of filaggrin, loricrin, and involucrin, cornified envelope proteins which are important for a healthy epidermal skin barrier and skin moisturizing (Collagen Research Institutes data; not published)."

"Data from clinical [Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014;27(1):47-55.] [J Sci Food Agric. 2016 Sep;96(12):4077-81.] and animal [Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Jan 9;456(2):626-30.] [Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2013 Aug;29(4):204-11.] trials have also demonstrated the improvement of the epidermal barrier and moisture after collagen peptides supplementation."

Ifs and buts
"As an open, noncontrolled trial, the results presented herein should have the inherent biases considered," the researchers wrote. "It can be assumed that the positive effect is based on the supplementation of Verisol; however, a certain influence of behavioral changes of some participants could not be fully excluded."

"With many different measurements taken at each visit, perhaps the most telling result is the high participant satisfaction. Interestingly, most participants reported they previously tried other treatments without success. Both the physician and the participants noticed a clear improvement and were satisfied with the treatment."

Conclusion
"The ingestion of specific bioactive collagen peptides led to a pronounced global clinical improvement in brittle nails, a significant increase in nail growth rate, and a decrease in the frequency of cracked or chipped nails in the present trial", the researchers summarised.

"Further research with larger samples and prolonged treatment is needed to explore the mechanism of action that leads brittle nails improvements, and larger, placebo-controlled studies are required to confirm the observed results."

Source:
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2017 Aug 8. doi: 10.1111/jocd.12393. [Epub ahead of print].

More:
Silicon supplement rejuvenates skin, hair and nails 14.09.2011

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