Is bovine collagen type 1 or type 2?
Answer
Type 1, usually with some type 3. Type 2 comes from chicken sternum rather than from cattle, so a bovine product is not a type 2 product.
Key takeaways
- What does bovine contain?
- Predominantly type 1 with some type 3, both of which come from hide and bone.
- Where does type 2 come from?
- Chicken sternum cartilage, which is a different source entirely.
- Which type suits a rugby player?
- Type 1, which dominates tendon, ligament, skin and bone.
What each source provides
Bovine collagen comes from cattle hide and bone and carries type 1 with some type 3. Marine collagen comes from fish skin and scales and is essentially all type 1. Type 2 comes from chicken sternum cartilage.
So a product marketed for cartilage using bovine collagen has the wrong source for the type it is implying, which is worth noticing on a shelf.
Which type matters here
Type 1 dominates tendon, ligament, skin and bone, which is the tissue a rugby player is thinking about. Type 3 accompanies it in skin and blood vessels. Type 2 is the cartilage associated type.
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen is type 1 hydrolysed marine collagen at 1200mg per two capsule serving with 12mg of vitamin C, at 28p a day.
What the type does not tell you
Whether it will reach the tissue it resembles. Ingested collagen is broken into amino acids and short peptides that enter the general pool and are used wherever the body is synthesising protein.
So the type is a specification describing the source material rather than a targeting mechanism, and collagen carries no authorised claim of any type in any case.
The full version
- Type 1 and type 3 collagen: what is the difference?Where each type sits and why type matching is not a mechanism.
- Marine or bovine collagen for rugby players?The source decision and what genuinely differs.
The product
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen is the 1200mg type 1 marine one with the vitamin C that carries the claim, at 28p a day, fish derived and UK made to GMP standards.
- 1200mg type 1 hydrolysed marine collagen
- 12mg vitamin C and 1.5mg zinc, both 15% NRV
- UK made to GMP, lab tested for purity
- Fish derived. Collagen carries no claim
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
Is bovine collagen type 2?
No. It is predominantly type 1 with some type 3.
Where does type 2 come from?
Chicken sternum cartilage, not from cattle.
Does the type direct where it goes?
No. Ingested collagen is broken down and used wherever the body is synthesising protein.
Which source has type 2?
Chicken sternum cartilage. Neither bovine nor marine collagen provides it.
Does bovine contain type 3?
Yes, alongside type 1, which is why bovine products often list both.