Highlights
- Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a type of long sugar chain produced by our cells that are essential part of skin moisturising and join lubrication
- There is a steep decline in skin HA content as we age
- There is decline of HA in joints with progressive osteoarthritis
- Oral supplementation with HA reverses some effects of skin aging and improves joint health
Oral collagen peptides supplement may have a useful role in reducing the effects of skin aging as well as in joint cartilage health. Even though collagen is a large protein and no protein of that size can get absorbed into our body as a whole from what we eat, there is pretty solid evidence that taking in collagen, either intact, or as collagen fragments also called peptides will increase the collagen levels in our skin and improve joint health. While there are many theories as to how this happens, the beneficial health effects are pretty clear.
The biology
It is a major component of the skin’s extracellular matrix, present in both the epidermis and the dermis, and is considered ‘nature’s moisturizer’. By the time we reach the age of 60, epidermal HA content has typically dropped by 50%, and by age 70 it usually drops another 50%. It is also a major component of the synovial fluid of our joints, helping to keep the joints well lubricated. The level of HA declines with progressing osteoarthritis.
Clinical evidence
In one placebo-controlled study 240 mg per day of HA taken for up to 6 weeks improved skin moisture, eye moisture and upper arm and neck skin smoothness. It’s worth noting that 120 mg/day also had the same positive effect. In another study 120mg/day taken for as long as 12 weeks, improved skin moisture content and elasticity significantly. In a third study, where subjects took an oral HA supplement (amount unknown) for 40 days, quantitatively improved skin hydration, roughness and elasticity and decreased wrinkle depth. Overall, the effect on skin health improvement is quite strong.
Moving on to joint health, a meta-analysis of 13 clinical studies found that oral HA significantly improved osteoarthritis pain. Nearly all of these studies were randomized, placebo-controlled and double blind and the interventions ranged from 60 mg to 240 mg daily HA dose for 2 weeks to 12 months.
Safety
Oral HA appears to be safe and well tolerated for most people. Patients with scleroderma are advised to avoid HA. Pregnant or breastfeeding women are also advised to avoid it for reasons that there isn’t sufficient safety information available for this group.
Supplementation
Based on the data, up to 240 mg of pure HA in capsule form appears to be effective and well tolerated. It is also worth noting that HA is aborbed through the skin, so it is a component of many moisturizers. In particular the lower molecular weight HAs get absorbed better than through the outer layer (epidermis) of the skin and can enter the deeper dermis.
Göllner, I., Voss, W., von Hehn, U., & Kammerer, S. (2017, October). Ingestion of an Oral Hyaluronan Solution Improves Skin Hydration, Wrinkle Reduction, Elasticity, and Skin Roughness: Results of a Clinical Study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2156587217743640
Kawada, C., Yoshida, T., Yoshida, H., Matsuoka, R., Sakamoto, W., Odanaka, W., Sato, T., Yamasaki, T., Kanemitsu, T., Masuda, Y., & Urushibata, O. (2014, July 11). Ingested hyaluronan moisturizes dry skin. Nutrition Journal. https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-13-70
Oe, M., Tashiro, T., Yoshida, H., Nishiyama, H., Masuda, Y., Maruyama, K., & Koikeda, T. (2016, January 27). Oral hyaluronan relieves knee pain: a review. Nutrition Journal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4729158/
Hyaluronic Acid – Uses, Side Effects, and More. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1062/hyaluronic-acid