Collagen Supplementation for Joint Health: The Link between Composition and Scientific Knowledge.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, generating pain, disability, and socioeconomic costs worldwide. Currently there are no approved disease-modifying drugs for OA, and safety concerns have been identified with the chronic use of symptomatic drugs. In this context, nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals have emerged as potential alternatives. Among them, collagen is being a focus of particular interest, but under the same term different types of collagens coexist with different structures, compositions, and origins, leading to different properties and potential effects. The aim of this narrative review is to generally describe the main types of collagens currently available in marketplace, focusing on those related to joint health, describing their mechanism of action, preclinical, and clinical evidence. Native and hydrolyzed collagen are the most studied collagen types for joint health. Native collagen has a specific immune-mediated mechanism that requires the recognition of its epitopes to inhibit inflammation and tissue catabolism at articular level. Hydrolyzed collagen may contain biologically active peptides that are able to reach joint tissues and exert chondroprotective effects. Although there are preclinical and clinical studies showing the safety and efficacy of food ingredients containing both types of collagens, available research suggests a clear link between collagen chemical structure and mechanism of action.

Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of anchovy oil in a solvent-free system: Simultaneous optimization of monoacylglycerol synthesis and end-product oxidative stability.

The production of mono- and diacylglycerols rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids is achieved in this study, by solvent-free glycerolysis of anchovy oil with lipase PS-DI from Burkholderia cepacia. Attention is focused on the oxidative stability of the reaction products, determined in terms of induction time (It). The effects of glycerol/triacylglycerol molar ratio, enzyme concentration, and reaction temperature on mono- and diacylglycerol production and It are all assessed. The operating conditions that optimized monoacylglycerol yields and oxidative stability were a glycerol/triacylglycerol ratio of 3/1, 9.0% (w/w) Lipase PS-DI, a stirring rate of 200 rpm, and a reaction time of 4 h, at 45.8 °C, producing a content of 24.8% and 51.9% of mono- and diacylglycerols, respectively, over an It of 1.41 h. The glycerolysis conditions determined by simultaneous optimization strategy increased the oxidative stability of the glycerolysis products by 68%, which rose from 0.84 h (individual optimization) to 1.41 h.