UC-II® Patented Undenatured Type II Collagen (40 mg/day, Joint Health)

INGREDIENT PROFILE

What this ingredient is documented for

Origin

United States

Developer

Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition — Lonza Greenwood LLC (formerly InterHealth Nutraceuticals)

• Undenatured (native) type II collagen derived from chicken sternum cartilage using a patented low-temperature process that preserves the intact triple-helix structure and its bioactive epitopes; brand owned by Lonza (formerly InterHealth Nutraceuticals) and produced in the USA under NSF GMP registration and cGMP (21 CFR 111/117), with a halal grade available
• Mechanism of action — oral tolerance: the preserved epitopes bind to Peyer’s patches in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and activate regulatory T cells that migrate to joint tissue, moderating the inflammatory response and supporting cartilage repair; a single small 40 mg daily dose (providing approx. 10 mg of native type II collagen) is enough
• Knee osteoarthritis RCT (Lugo et al., Nutrition Journal 2016): 191 randomised subjects over 180 days; UC-II 40 mg/day reduced the total WOMAC score significantly more than placebo (−551 vs −414, p=0.002) and more than glucosamine 1,500 mg + chondroitin 1,200 mg (−551 vs −454, p=0.04), with VAS pain and the Lequesne functional index also superior to both comparators
• Healthy-subject RCT (Lugo et al., JISSN 2013): 55 healthy volunteers with exercise-induced knee discomfort over 120 days; average knee extension improved from 73.2° to 81.0° (p=0.002 vs baseline; p=0.011 vs placebo) and stepmill exercise time before joint discomfort was extended from 1.4 to 2.8 minutes (p=0.019)
• Patent-protected (e.g. US 9,066,926 B2 “Method of reducing exercise-induced joint pain in non-arthritic mammals” and US 8,748,499 B2 “Collagen dispersion and method of producing same”, assignee Lonza Greenwood LLC); no product-related adverse events or clinically significant changes in haematology, blood biochemistry or vital signs were reported across the trials. Applications: joint and mobility supplements, sports nutrition, healthy-ageing formulas