Collagen Types I, II and III and Sources: Bovine, Marine, Porcine, Chicken and "Vegan Collagen"

Urgent first: allergy to fish or other animal sources

Collagen supplements are made from animals, so they can trigger allergy in people who react to that animal. If someone has swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing, a hoarse voice, faintness, or a child who goes limp or unresponsive after a collagen product, treat it as an emergency. In the US call 911 or your local emergency number. [1] [2] More detail is on Collagen allergy: fish, shellfish, egg and beef sources.

Short answer

"Type I, II or III" names a kind of collagen protein. "Bovine, marine, porcine, chicken" names the animal it came from. "Vegan collagen" is not animal collagen at all. This page explains those words so a label is easier to read. It does not rank sources. The head-to-head of two common sources is on Marine vs bovine collagen, and the main guide is Collagen supplements.

What the "types" mean

Collagen is the main fibrous structural protein of skin, tendons, bones, cartilage and other connective tissue. [3] One review says the body has at least 16 types, and that types I, II and III are the most prominent. [3] A larger review counts 28 known types, so the exact number depends on the source. [4]

1. Type I

   A review of hydrolyzed collagen describes extracting type I collagen from bovine, porcine, marine, chicken and fish raw materials. [4]

   What is not shown: That a "type I" label predicts a benefit for any one tissue.

2. Type II

   Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) is derived from chicken sternum cartilage. [5] It is a different kind of product from ordinary peptides: see Gelatin and undenatured type II collagen.

   What is not shown: That type II in a hydrolyzed product acts like UC-II.

3. Type III

   Named as one of the three most prominent types in the body. [3]

   What is not shown: Proper evidence not found for a trial of a type III supplement on its own. I searched PubMed ("type III collagen" oral supplement, randomized) and found only blend products or unrelated studies.

Evidence labels used on this page: "promising but limited" means small or short studies; "Proper evidence not found" means I looked and found nothing usable. The trials in the reviews did not test whether the type printed on a label decides which tissue benefits, so "type I for skin, type II for joints" is a marketing pairing, not a proven match. For what trials found by use, see Collagen for skin, joints and bone.

Animal sources

Collagen and its hydrolyzed form are commonly made from pig or cow skin. [4] The same review says mad cow disease concerns and religious restrictions on pork pushed makers to look at marine and poultry sources. [4]

Does the source change results? A meta-analysis of 26 skin trials (1,721 people) found that the effect on skin hydration varied with the collagen source and how long people took it, but the effect on elasticity did not differ significantly by source. [6] The same review noted biases in the included trials. [6] This is a pattern across trials, not a head-to-head test, so it does not show that any source is better.

Close-up pages on each source: bovine, marine, chicken and eggshell membrane, and multi-collagen blends.

Allergens and sourcing

• Fish collagen: collagen is a recognized fish allergen. In one Japanese study, 50% of patients with fish allergy had IgE antibodies to mackerel collagen. [7] In another, antibody reactivity to fish collagen stayed after heavy heating. [8] A case report describes a 9-year-old with fish allergy who had anaphylaxis from fruit-flavored gummies; the maker confirmed fish collagen, and a supervised challenge confirmed the cause. [9]
• US labels: FDA lists fish and crustacean shellfish among the nine major food allergens, and the species of fish must be declared. This includes dietary supplements. [10] Pork and beef are not on that list, so an animal source may appear only in the ingredient text. If it does not say, ask the maker.
• Gelatin and mammal-meat allergy: some people with alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-linked allergy to mammal meat, can react to gelatin and other mammal-derived products. [11] Ask an allergy clinician before any bovine or porcine collagen. [12]
• Other animals: the sources I read gave no human safety data comparing bovine, porcine and chicken products with one another.

What "vegan collagen" means

Real collagen comes from animals. Products sold as vegan collagen fall into two groups:

1. Plant-based "collagen support" blends: plant ingredients or nutrients marketed to support the body's own collagen. They are not collagen. I searched PubMed for randomized trials of "vegan collagen" and plant "collagen booster" supplements and found none. Proper evidence not found. See Vegan collagen and collagen boosters.
2. Lab-made (recombinant) collagen: researchers have made a human type III collagen fragment in moss, described as a vegan alternative to animal collagen. [13] It was a laboratory production study that reached about 1 mg per liter of culture, and some authors work for a company that plans to market it. [13] It is not a trial in people.

Because the human trials in the reviews tested hydrolyzed collagen from animals, their results should not be carried over to vegan products. [6]