
Food &
Function
PAPER
Cite this: Food Funct., 2023, 14,
5936
Received 16th April 2023,
Accepted 30th May 2023
DOI: 10.1039/d3fo01516e
rsc.li/food-function
The combined effect of commercial tilapia
collagen peptides and antioxidants against
UV-induced skin photoaging in mice†
Bo Song,
a
Dasong Liu,*
a
Tristan C. Liu,
b,c
Kexin Li,
b,c
Sai Wang,
b,c
Jianguo Liu,
b,c
Joe M. Regenstein,
d
Yuxuan Wu
a
and Peng Zhou
a
Chronic over-exposure to UV radiation leads to the damage of skin tissue. The aim of this study was to
investigate the effects of collagen peptide (CP) and antioxidant (astaxanthin, vitamin C (Vc), and vitamin E
(Ve)) combinations on skin photoaging. Forty male UV-induced BALB/c mice were randomized and fed
saline or CP and antioxidants for 7 weeks using gavage feeding. The results showed that oral adminis-
tration of CP, CP combined with Vc and Ve (VCE) or Haematococcus pluvialis extract (HPE) significantly (P
< 0.05) reduced a* of mouse skin and increased the content of Hyp and type I collagen to varying
degrees, thereby improving skin integrity. Furthermore, the combination of CP, HPE, and VCE showed
increased upregulation of antioxidant enzyme expression, reduced serum ROS, and decreased inhibition
of metalloproteinase expression compared to the other treatment groups. Thus, this combination showed
better effects in inhibiting collagen degradation and maintaining the redox balance. The Nrf2/ARE and
TGF-β/Smad transcription systems are likely involved in these effects. Therefore, the results suggest that a
diet containing CP, astaxanthin, and vitamins might be recommended to improve skin health and
appearance.
1. Introduction
Skin aging is one of the phenotypes of an organism’s aging
and is influenced by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic
factors.
1
Intrinsic aging is the natural aging of the human
body, whereas extrinsic aging is mainly induced by physical
and chemical factors. UV is currently considered to be the
main extrinsic factor leading to skin aging, with it accounting
for ∼80% of facial skin photoaging.
2
Long-term overexposure
to UV radiation can destroy the structure of the extracellular
matrix of skin tissues, leading to skin fragility, laxity, rough-
ness, dryness, hyper-pigmentation, wrinkle formation,
redness, and an increase in the risk of skin cancer.
3,4
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is
expected that the proportion of the world’s population aged 60
years or over will nearly double from 12 to 22%between 2015
and 2050.
5
People of all ages are generally believed to be inter-
ested in preventing skin aging, thus resulting in a strong
market for anti-photoaging products.
5
Compounds capable of
inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) were able to protect
the skin tissue against UV-induced photoaging. However, skin
photoaging is a complex process that includes decreased col-
lagen synthesis, increased collagen degradation, accumulation
of ROS in the organism, inhibition of antioxidant enzyme
activity, and release of inflammatory factors.
6
Therefore, the
effect of a single substance is often limited and cannot com-
prehensively improve skin photoaging, and it is necessary to
investigate the combined effect of different chemicals, such as
bioactive peptides and natural antioxidants.
Bioactive peptides, which have most often been derived
from food processing by-products, have been used to produce
commercially valuable food ingredients that have the potential
to trigger certain desirable physiological responses in humans.
Among them, collagen peptides have attracted the attention of
the cosmetic and health care industries in recent years due to
their physiological activities, such as moisture retention
activity, hygroscopicity, tyrosinase inhibitory activity, and anti-
oxidant activity.
7
Collagen peptides obtained by enzymatic
hydrolysis have been shown to promote endogenous collagen
synthesis and inhibit collagen degradation by stimulating the
TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.
8
Previous studies have shown
†Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/
10.1039/d3fo01516e
a
State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources Jiangnan University, Wuxi,
Jiangsu Province 214122, China. E-mail: liudasong68@163.com;
Fax: +86 510 85326012; Tel: +86 510 85326012
b
Standard Foods (China) Co. Ltd, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province 215434, China
c
Le Bonta Wellness Co. Ltd, Shanghai 200131, China
d
Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7201, USA
5936 |Food Funct.,2023,14,5936–5948 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023
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