[RESEARCH] Vitamin C-Enriched Gelatin for Tendon Health

Vitamin C-Enriched Gelatin for Tendon Health

Nutritional and/or exercise interventions that increase collagen synthesis and strengthen these tissues could have an important effect on tendon injury rates.

This RCT investigated whether consuming gelatin (a food derivative of collagen) and vitamin C combined with exercise could increase collagen synthesis.

KEY FINDINGS:
Participants drank vitamin C–enriched gelatin or placebo.
Blood was taken every 30 min.

1 hour after the initial supplement, 6 min of rope-skipping.
Repeated 3x/day with 6 h between exercise for 3 days.

Increasing amounts of gelatin increased circulating:
Glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and hydroxylysine.
Peaking 1 h after the supplement was given.

Engineered ligaments treated for 6 days showed increased collagen content and improved mechanics.

Subjects who took 15 g gelatin 1 hour before exercise showed 2x amino-terminal propeptide of collagen I in their blood, indicating increased collagen synthesis.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS:
Supplementation with gelatin in humans augments collagen synthesis after exercise.

The accelerated rate of collagen synthesis was observed as early as 4 hours after the first bout of exercise.

This was maintained over the 72 h of the study.

Adding gelatin and vitamin C to an intermittent exercise program could play a beneficial role in injury prevention and tissue repair.

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SOURCE:
Shaw et al. 2017. Am J Clin Nutr 2017;105:136–43

Dalton Urrutia, MSc PT

Dalton is a Physical Therapist from Oregon, currently living and running the performance physiotherapy clinic he founded in London for Grapplers and Strength & Conditioning athletes. Dalton runs the popular instagram account @physicaltherapyresearch, where he posts easy summaries of current and relevant research on health, fitness, and rehab topics.

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