Collagen is rich in 18 amino acids other than tryptophan, cysteine and tyrosine, including seven essential amino acids; collagen also contains two unique amino acids – proline and hydroxyproline, but also contains pyroglutamic acid, which is rare in general proteins, and hydroxylysine, which is almost nonexistent in other proteins, alanine, Glutamic acid is also relatively abundant, collagen is very rich in nutrition [1].

The amino acids of collagen peptides are not only rich in amino acids, but also high in protein content and fat-free, which meets people’s demand for “low-fat, high-protein” food, and collagen peptides can be absorbed directly in the intestine. As people’s nutritional requirements for food continue to improve, collagen-rich foods will be more and more favored by people, collagen will also become a good source of nutrition.

Oral collagen peptide can make the body more directly and effectively absorb the ingested active ingredients, and rapidly replenish the nutrients needed by human tissues; it can help the body to ingest sufficient amount of hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, and promote the synthesis of collagen in the body, so as to effectively avoid diseases caused by the lack of collagen.

Application in functional food

The molecular size of collagen peptide is nano-scale, with high absorption rate after oral intake, it is easy to be absorbed by stomach, blood vessels and skin, which reduces the digestive burden of gastrointestinal tract. In addition, collagen peptide can accumulate in the cartilage after absorption and circulation in the human body, which can have a good effect on joint diseases [2].

As a new type of functional food ingredient with high biosafety, marine collagen peptide is easy to be absorbed, and its digestive absorption rate is almost 100%, which is better than unhydrolyzed macromolecular collagen or free amino acids.

In addition, marine collagen peptide also has the characteristics of low antigenicity, hypoallergenicity, high solubility, high thermal stability, etc. It can be consumed directly as a functional food alone, or compounded with other raw materials to make compound products, such as making into cereal protein bars, yogurt and jelly. The marine collagen peptide products currently on the market show a diversified trend in the form of dosage forms, mainly oral liquid, chewable tablets, powder, granules, soft capsules, etc. [3].

Application in beauty health food

Collagen is the main component of human skin dermis, and a small amount of elastin together constitute the regular collagen fiber mesh structure, so that the skin has a certain degree of elasticity and hardness, and for the epidermis to transport water.

Hydrolyzed collagen can provide high-quality amino acid raw materials for the synthesis of human collagen, especially proline and hydroxyproline, which promotes the synthesis of collagen, replenishes the collagen lost from human skin in time, and helps to maintain the special mesh structure of collagen in the skin, so as to achieve the effect of improving the moisture of the skin and slowing down the aging of the skin.

At present, collagen as the main raw material for the development of beauty health food in line with the modern “from the inside out” the pursuit of the concept of beauty [4].

Application in dairy products

Collagen peptides can be widely used in neutral milk drinks, acidic milk drinks, fresh milk, yogurt and other liquid dairy products, to play the anti-whey precipitation, emulsion stabilization and other effects. It can also be added to milk powder, which can not only improve the nutritional value of milk powder, but also enhance the health care function of milk powder, strengthen bone development, and improve the immunity of the body [4].

Application of confectionery and candy

Collagen polypeptide can be added to bread, which can prolong the aging time of bread and increase the volume and fluffiness of bread. They can also be added to candies to develop low-calorie candies [4].

In conclusion, collagen peptides, as natural proteins, are not only diverse, easy to process and modify, safe and environmentally friendly, but also have good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and have a wide range of application prospects and development space in the food industry. It is believed that with the continuous improvement of people’s requirements for quality of life and the deepening of the cognition of collagen peptide, the demand for collagen peptide will be more and more, and the collagen peptide market has great potential.