Vegan collagen - does it exist?

Collagen is naturally not vegan. Collagen is a structural protein found in the skin, bones, joints and muscles of animals. It gives strength and elasticity to our tissues, protects our internal organs and helps us move without pain. But since collagen doesn't exist in the plant-based world, you might be wondering what "vegan collagen" really means, or what it actually is!

Since collagen is animal and does not exist in the plant kingdom, there is no NATURAL vegan collagen . However, there are natural collagen boosters that contain nutrients that help the body's own collagen formation, such as vitamin C.

But... science has discovered a way to make what they call "vegan collagen" in the laboratory!

What is natural collagen?

Collagen is composed of three polypeptide chains consisting of several amino acids, including glycine, proline, hydroxylysine (hydroxylysine) and hydroxyproline (hydroxyproline). Hydroxylysine (hydroxylysine) and hydroxyproline (hydroxyproline) are unique precisely to animal collagen.

Hydroxyproline in particular is incredibly important if you're looking for anti-aging benefits because it's believed to be the reason collagen supplements can stimulate collagen production in your skin.

Collagen, regardless of animal origin, contains 19 amino acids, including hydroxyproline (and also smaller amounts of hydroxylysine) that do not occur in other proteins. Its atypical amino acid composition is characterized by a high content of proline and glycine, as well as the absence of cysteine.

Can collagen be vegan?

Yes, there is vegan collagen, but it is not natural collagen. Natural collagen always comes from the animal kingdom. This lab-made vegan collagen also does not look exactly like natural collagen that comes from animals.

What is vegan collagen?

Vegan collagen produced in a laboratory has the same amino acids as natural animal collagen. However, the raw material for the different collagen variants differs. Natural collagen is made from animals and vegan collagen is made from bacteria, yeast, plants/plants and from animal cell biopsies.

Is vegan collagen a natural collagen?

No, vegan collagen is manufactured by humans in a laboratory and is therefore not something that occurs naturally.

What is the difference between vegan collagen and animal collagen?

What distinguishes these two collagen variants is that vegan collagen is not a natural protein but has been created by man. The animals that natural collagen comes from are usually from fish, chicken or cattle.

How is vegan collagen produced in the laboratory?

There are a few different ways in which vegan collagen can be produced, so-called. "animal-free collagen".

Yeast and bacteria produce vegan collagen

Four human genes coding for collagen are added to the microbes' genetic makeup. Once the genes are in place, the yeast or bacteria begin to produce building blocks of human collagen. Pepsin, a digestive enzyme, is added to help structure the building blocks of collagen molecules with the exact structure of human collagen. When this process is complete, we have vegan collagen!

Plant-based production of vegan collagen

Belgian manufacturer VeColall does not produce collagen in the strictest sense of the word, but instead uses plants to make biomimetic versions of human collagen types. Biomimetics (also biomimicry or biomimicry ) is technology that imitates role models in biological life in nature. This variant of non-animal collagen does not contain the amino acids hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine that are unique to natural collagen from animals. This variant of non-animal collagen simply contains an "assemblage of amino acids".

Vegan collagen production via fermentation

The plant-based collagen Vollagen from the company Protec Nutra is made from non-GMO corn, to which the manufacturer applies an in-house developed multi-stage fermentation process. This allows them to combine the exact ratio of amino acids found in human collagen.

Cell-based production of vegan collagen from animals

Jellatech has found a way to make vegan collagen from animal "cell biopsies" using biotech tools. This process involves the cells expanding and recycling. After feeding the cells a customized medium, the "startup" harvests the collagen - which the company claims is completely free of animal cells or DNA. This vegan collagen is not approved for use at the time of writing.

Is vegan collagen made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?

Vegan collagen can be produced from genetically modified yeast and genetically modified bacteria in a laboratory. Natural collagen always comes from animals and contains no genetically modified genetic material, and animal collagen is therefore a natural protein. Vegan collagen is not a natural protein.

What are GMOs?

GMO stands for genetically modified organism. GMO is defined in the Environmental Code as a biological entity that can reproduce or transfer genetic material, in which the genetic material has been changed in a way that does not occur naturally through mating or natural recombination.

What does GMO mean?

In traditional plant breeding, the goal is to find genes that give the offspring competitive advantages compared to existing varieties. With the help of modern genetic engineering, genes can be moved between different species, something that cannot be achieved through traditional plant breeding. In this way, a single gene can be added to a plant that controls a specific characteristic. Through this method, the result is more predictable than when you mix in hundreds of genes that can be involved in traditional plant breeding.

The most common genetic modifications are that genes from a soil bacterium are transferred to plants and give them built-in protection against insect attacks or against certain pesticides. The advantage of that change is that the grower does not have to use as much pesticide as when growing conventional plant varieties.

This type of genetic engineering is also used to produce crops with better nutritional content. In this way, they have produced rapeseed with a better oil composition and rice that contains more vitamin A.

Another area where the technology is used is in the production of, for example, vitamins, amino acids and enzymes, which are then used in the food industry.

The most important genetically modified crops in the world are soy, corn, rapeseed and cotton. Other genetically modified crops are sugar beet, potatoes and rice.

Many manufacturers use the word vegan collagen, what does it really mean?

There is no established definition for what vegan collagen is. Collagen is always naturally animal and does not occur in the plant kingdom.

Our body also makes its own collagen, but production starts to decrease from the age of 25. Anything we can do to help our collagen production, including getting enough protein and nutrients into our body will not only be beneficial, but very helpful!

Is vegan collagen as good as animal collagen?

A vegan collagen produced in a laboratory is not a natural collagen, nor is it 100% identical to the collagen that occurs in our bodies and in the animal kingdom.