The study found that 12 months of supplementation led to significant improvements in trabecular and cortical bone properties at the shin bone (tibia).
Researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the KAT General Hospital of Athens also found that the three-component supplement decreased bone turnover in the women.
“In this randomized 1-yr prospective study, supplementation with calcium, vitamin D with [collagen peptides] resulted in a significant increase of trabecular [bone mineral content], [bone cross-sectional area] and [volumetric bone mineral density] at the tibia, as compared with supplementation without [collagen peptides],” they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Densitometry.
“At the cortical site, the percent changes in cortical [volumetric bone mineral density] were greater, and the mean 12-mo values of cort [bone mineral content] and [volumetric bone mineral density] increased following [collagen peptides] supplementation.”
Study details
While the new study is reportedly the first to explore the effects of the collagen peptides in combination with calcium and vitamin D on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone geometry, three other studies have examined the potential combination of collagen with calcium and vitamin D. Those studies also found that measures of bone health were improved by adding collagen peptides to calcium and D.
Fifty-one postmenopausal women with osteopenia were recruited to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to receive 500 mg calcium and 400 IU vitamin D3 per day with or without 5 grams per day of collagen peptides (Fortibone, Gelita). The three-component formulation is commercially available in Greece under the Colabone brand from VivaPharm SA, and VivaPharm supported the study.