Collagen comes in many forms.
It’s not just ‘collagen types’ that are important, but how the collagen has been processed.
Collagen can be processed into different states and these will have an impact on how effective a nutritional source they are and provide differing mechanisms of action.
Natural Collagen
You would find collagen in its natural state, from a raw or cooked ‘tough cut’ of meat containing lots of connective tissue.
In this form the collagen retains its woven triple helix shape:
It’s insoluble.
And resistant to proteases.
That’s the natural process mammals use to digest proteins.
(Which is why we still recommend a good collagen supplement designed for bio-availability to those raw feeding their dog.)
Undenatured Collagen
Undenatured or native collagen has been treated to reduce the cross-linking in the molecules.
Unweaving the strands if you like…
Undenatured collagen is partially insoluble and still has a low bioavailability.
Often you will see undenatured collagen referred to as UC-II.
Although in fact, UC-II is a trademarked name of a specific ingredient from Lonza, a huge healthcare company.
UC-II is one of the most studied collagen ingredients in trials looking at collagen supplements for dogs, you will find many of them here.
These studies have proposed that the mechanism of action is by way of oral tolerance. UC-II binds to immune cells in the small intestine, which triggers a signal to stop the immune system from attacking the body's own collagen cartilage.
Pawable collagen includes undenatured UC-II.
Hydrolysed Collagen
Further processing of collagen breaks down the collagen into much smaller collagen peptides.
This creates a highly absorbable mix of amino acids, dipeptides and tripeptides.
The mode of action is de novo collagen protein synthesis. Providing amino acids, dipeptides & tripeptides to promote the synthesis of new collagen.
Pawable’s collagen blend also includes a mix of type I, II, III, V & X hydrolysed collagen.
Summary
Undenatured and hydrolysed collagen work in different ways.
Undenatured collagen triggers a signal to stop the immune system from attacking the body's own collagen cartilage.
Hydrolysed collagen provides essential amino acids, dipeptide and tripeptides to promote synthesis of new collagen.
So which of these collagen’s is best for dogs?
Both.
Together these different forms of collagen perfectly complement each other.
Pawable is the only collagen brand for dogs that combines both hydrolysed and undenatured collagen.
