Compositions for use as dietary supplements to produce short-chain peptides in the digestive tract associated with skin appearance

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composition used as a dietary supplement to produce short-chain peptides related to skin appearance in the digestive tract, which comprises at least the following components: bovine collagen peptides with an average molecular weight of 2000Da, characterized by high sequence homology with human type I collagen α-1, human type I collagen α-2 and human type III collagen α-1, and a total sequence coverage of more than 90% for human type I collagen α-1 and human type I collagen α-2, and an aqueous extract of acerola fruit (Malpighia punicifolia), characterized by the presence of soluble dietary fiber and high uronic acid content in addition to standardized vitamin C content. The present invention is particularly suitable as a dietary supplement for maintaining healthy skin.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a composition for use as a dietary supplement (nutritional supplement, ) to produce a composition related to skin appearance in the digestive tract of short-chain peptides, which comprises at least bovine collagen peptides with an average molecular weight of 2000 Da and an extract from acerola fruit (Malpighia punicifolia). Background Art

[0002] As people age, their skin shows visible signs of aging, which can appear at different times and to different degrees, depending on genetic predispositions and lifestyle factors. These signs of aging are particularly noticeable on the face. The use of cosmetics for decorative purposes has been documented since ancient times, and the skin-protecting properties of topical preparations have become increasingly important in recent decades. However, due to the strong barrier properties of the basal layer in human skin, most topical substances can only act in the outermost layer of the skin, the epidermis.

[0003] Therefore, more and more so-called health foods have been developed in recent years. These are usually dietary supplements containing nutrients related to skin health. For example, DE 10 2016 107 508 A1 discloses an oral composition containing collagen hydrolysate and vitamin C for the production of functional foods or dietary supplements to promote the maintenance of healthy skin.

[0004] In addition to micronutrients such as biotin, zinc, vitamin C, iodine, copper, niacin, riboflavin or vitamin A, which have been identified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as having skin-relevant effects in the form of so-called health claims, plant extracts or selected components of the extracellular matrix of animal tissue are also common ingredients in such products, although the mechanism of action is often unclear.

[0005] A plant extract commonly used in dietary supplements is obtained from acerola fruit. It is valued for its very high vitamin C content, and corresponding extracts for nutritional use are usually standardized (only) on this one component. At most, the nutritional and physiological effects of antioxidant concomitants such as polyphenols are sometimes discussed in the literature.

[0006] Among the above-mentioned components of the extracellular matrix, the use of collagen peptides is particularly widespread. Collagen is the most common structural protein in the human body. The same applies to other vertebrates, so that collagen-containing components are by-products of the production of meat and fish suitable for human consumption. Although the processing of these components into gelatin has a long tradition, the preparation of collagen peptides has become increasingly important in recent years.

[0007] Collagen peptides differ from gelatin in their pharmaceutical properties (such as gelling capacity) and their bioavailability. Which properties significantly influence their effect on the appearance of the skin is currently the subject of scientific research. The original assumption that they only provide the body with the amino acids required for protein synthesis ("building block function") can be considered to be refuted. On the contrary, there are indications that the choice of animal origin (cow, porcine, marine organisms) and the process control during the hydrolysis (e.g. the proteases used) influence the composition and size of the collagen peptides and thus also their (signal transduction) action.

[0008] Although hydroxyproline-containing peptides were previously thought to be particularly important because they are typical in collagen, recent studies have shown that other peptides also have nutritional and physiological significance. Recently, work by Zhao Deng et al.'s research group has shown that peptides containing the sequence PGA (proline-glycine-alanine) have strong anti-inflammatory activity. Given that inflammatory processes also promote skin aging, this finding is also of great benefit for maintaining skin health.

[0009] The disadvantage of the above research results is that they are based on artificially synthesized peptides or peptide fragments. Therefore, the mechanism of action of such agents needs to be studied in more detail so that the effects of existing agents can be improved on this basis. Summary of the invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to identify such peptides of natural origin which can be used for nutritional purposes. It is also an object of the present invention to provide these peptides in compositions which have improved properties compared to known compositions for nutritionally influencing the appearance of the skin.

[0011] This problem is solved by a composition for use as a dietary supplement according to claim 1. Further preferred embodiments can be found in the dependent claims.

[0012] Surprisingly, by combining collagen peptides with acerola fruit extract containing certain polysaccharides, it was possible to influence the peptides formed during human digestion, preferentially forming peptides containing the physiologically relevant sequence PGA.

[0013] For the purposes of the present invention, the term "extract" refers to a concentrated extract of a fruit or other plant component or animal component having a liquid, viscous, oily or dry nature, and can be adjusted to a specific component content. For example, alcohol or water can be used to obtain a plant extract. For the purposes of the present invention, the term "extract" also refers to a purified extract or extract component. For the purposes of the present invention, the term "extract from..." is understood to mean that the extract can be obtained or prepared from the corresponding plant or plant part or animal component.

[0014] According to the invention, bovine collagen peptides with an average molecular weight of 2000 Daltons are used, which are preferably prepared by hydrolysis of gelatin preferably from bovine skin under the action of various proteases. Characterization of the raw material by LC-MS / MS measurements using a reversed phase nano LC column shows that the peptides have a chain length preferably less than 26 peptides.

[0015] After analyzing the primary structure of the collagen component and comparing it with relevant protein databases, it was possible to determine its high sequence homology of 31% with human type I collagen alpha-1, 18% with human type I collagen alpha-2 and 13% with human type III collagen alpha-1, which is higher than the sequence coverage of 4% to 20%, 7% to 16% and 6% to 11% for collagen peptides from other sources. The total sequence coverage of human type I collagen alpha-1 exceeds 94%, and the total sequence coverage of human type I collagen alpha-2 exceeds 90%. Due to the presence of proteins with high nutritional value and the absence of added preservatives, the collagen component according to the present invention represents a high-quality dietary supplement.

[0016] The acerola fruit extract used is not only standardized to a fixed content of vitamin C, but is also characterized by a significant content of high molecular weight soluble dietary fiber, as can be shown by enzymatic gravimetric methods. Spectrophotometric methods also show a similarly high content of uronic acid. Our own measurements show that for the specific acerola fruit extract used herein, the dietary fiber content is at least 2.1% (gravimetric method) and the high uronic acid content is at least 1.6% (spectroscopic method). Uronic acid is a monosaccharide, the primary alcohol function of which (CH2OH group, C6) is oxidized to a carboxylic acid function (COOH group). Therefore, the molecule has a carbonyl (aldehyde) function at C1 and a carboxyl function at C6. It was concluded that the dietary fiber mentioned is probably a pectin derivative. It is known that high molecular weight components such as dietary fiber can affect the absorption of other food components in the human intestine.

[0017] According to the invention, the aqueous extract from acerola fruit has a standardized vitamin C content, preferably a high molecular weight soluble dietary fiber content of 0.2 to 10.0 wt. %, particularly preferably 1.0 to 5.0 wt. %, and preferably a uronic acid content of 0.1 to 5.0 wt. %, particularly preferably 0.5 to 2.5 wt. % (typical acids / preferred acids should at least be exemplified so that the invention is clearly and completely disclosed and sufficient for a person skilled in the art to implement). Uronic acids are D-glucuronic acid, D-galacturonic acid and D-mannuronic acid. D-galacturonic acid is predominant. Therefore, the inventors assume that the dietary fiber is pectin. Pectin is a polyuronide consisting essentially of D-galacturonic acid units linked by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Since the nutritional and physiological effects in the skin are determined by the form in which the orally ingested ingredients reach the skin, the "TinyTIM" model from Triskelion was used to better understand the digestive processes. This is a validated in vitro system that simulates the processes in the human digestive tract. Various compartments (stomach, intestine) are used for this purpose, which are connected by peristaltic valves. As part of the dynamic process control, factors such as temperature, pH, electrolytes, digestive enzymes and mechanics are used to simulate the conditions in the human gastrointestinal tract.

[0019] Surprisingly, after digestion of the combination of collagen peptides and acerola extract, several short-chain peptide fragments were detected significantly more frequently than after digestion of gelatin.

[0020] Surprisingly, the results showed that many of these peptides contained the amino acid sequence GPA, which is associated with anti-inflammatory active components. Among the 10 most frequently occurring peptides, four peptides were found: GPAGPAGPR, GPAGV, GRpGApGPA and VGPA (single letter code for amino acids; p = hydroxyproline).

[0021] Advantageously, the combination of collagen peptides and acerola extract according to the invention, which in each case has the properties described, influences the digestive processes in the human body by preferably forming peptide fragments having the desired amino acid sequence.

[0022] The problem posed at the outset is therefore solved by a composition according to claim 1 and its use as a dietary supplement. Further preferred embodiments can be found in the dependent claims.

[0023] In other words, the problem is solved by a composition for use as a dietary supplement to produce short-chain peptides associated with skin appearance in the digestive tract, the composition comprising at least the following components

[0024] a) bovine collagen peptide with an average molecular weight of 2000Da and

[0025] b) Aqueous extract of acerola fruit having a standardized vitamin C content, a high molecular weight soluble dietary fiber content of 0.2% to 10.0% by weight and a uronic acid content of 0.1% to 5.0% by weight.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the composition further comprises at least the following components, in each case based on its total weight:

[0027] a) 1×10 -4 wt% to 4 wt%, preferably 4×10 -4 % by weight to 1% by weight, particularly preferably 1×10 -3 Weight% to 1×10 -2 Weight % Vitamin E,

[0028] b) 4×10 -6 wt% to 0.02 wt%, preferably 1×10 -5 Weight% to 1×10 -3 % by weight, particularly preferably 1×10 -4 Weight% to 1×10 -3 wt % biotin, and

[0029] c) 4×10 -4 wt% to 0.08 wt%, preferably 1×10 -3 Weight% to 1×10 -1 % by weight, particularly preferably 1×10 -2 Weight% to 1×10 -1 % by weight of zinc citrate, wherein the weight contents of the individual components are selected so that the total weight of the components does not exceed 100 % by weight.

[0030] Preferably, the composition contains a) collagen peptides and b) acerola fruit extract in a weight ratio of 8:1 to 2:1, most preferably 3.75:1.

[0031] In addition to components a), b) and possibly c) to e), the composition may, in a preferred embodiment, contain further micronutrients and / or plant extracts and pharmaceutical excipients (sugars, sweeteners, stabilizers, acidity regulators, preservatives, flavorings).

Claims

1. A composition for use as a dietary supplement to produce short-chain peptides associated with skin appearance in the digestive tract, comprising at least the following components: a) bovine collagen peptide with an average molecular weight of 2000 Da, and b) Aqueous extract of acerola fruit having a standardized vitamin C content, a high molecular weight soluble dietary fiber content of 0.2% to 10.0% by weight and a uronic acid content of 0.1% to 5.0% by weight.

2. The composition according to claim 1, characterized in that The collagen peptides have a chain length of less than 26 peptides.

3. The composition according to claim 2, characterized in that The collagen peptide has high sequence homology with human type I collagen α-1, human type I collagen α-2 and human type III collagen α-1 in the skin, wherein the total sequence coverage of human type I collagen α-1 exceeds 94%, and the total sequence coverage of human type I collagen α-2 exceeds 90%.

4. The composition according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that The composition further comprises at least the following components based on its total weight c) 1×10 -4 % to 4% by weight of vitamin E, d) 4×10 -6 % to 0.02% by weight of biotin, and e)4×10 -4 % to 0.08% by weight of zinc citrate, The weight contents of the individual components are selected such that the total weight of the components does not exceed 100% by weight.

5. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that It contains a) and b) in a weight ratio of 8:1 to 2:

1.

6. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that It contains other micronutrients and / or plant extracts as well as pharmaceutical excipients.

7. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims for use as a dietary supplement for maintaining skin health.

8. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims, in the form of an oral ampoule.