Glossary · Collagen
Abbreviations on collagen packaging
For collagen, the number on the package most often describes the mass of a sachet, not the amount of collagen itself. These are two different values and are rarely equal.
A “10 g” sachet contains collagen peptides, but also flavouring, acid, sweetener and sometimes vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. The collagen content itself can therefore be several grams lower. Some manufacturers state it directly; for the rest, it must be found in the ingredients.
There is also the type and origin of the raw material — two pieces of information that marketing descriptions merge into one, although they describe entirely different things.
The terms one by one
- Collagen peptidescollagen hydrolysate
- Collagen broken down into shorter chains. This value, not serving mass, is comparable between products. If the manufacturer states only the mass of a sachet, there is nothing to compare and we mark it accordingly.
- Type Icollagen of skin, bones and tendons
- The most common type in supplements, obtained from bovine and fish skins.
- Type IIcartilage collagen
- Usually obtained from poultry cartilage; also sold in an undenatured form described as UC-II. It is not a substitute for type I.
- Type IIIconnective-tissue collagen
- It occurs together with type I and is usually not sold separately.
- Marine collagenmarine origin
- Alongside bovine and poultry collagen, one of the three typical sources. It is sometimes chosen for dietary reasons, not because of a difference in peptide content.
- NatiCol, Peptan, Verisolraw-material trade names
- Brands of collagen peptides by which manufacturers describe the origin of the raw material. The name alone does not state how many peptides are in a serving — that number must be found in the table. Watch for names such as “vegan collagen”: this is usually a mixture of free amino acids, not collagen peptides.
- Daltonmolecular mass of peptides
- A unit describing peptide size, stated as a number of daltons. Manufacturers use it as an argument, but it cannot be converted into the amount of collagen in a serving.
Other groups of terms
Omega-3 Vitamin D Magnesium, zinc, iron Vitamin C B vitamins Creatine Probiotics Label and calculations
How the numbers from a label turn into the cost of a day is shown in the omega-3 calculator — for now this is the only finished category. The rules by which we build the ranking are described in the How we rank section.