Newport Beach, CA—A new pilot study sponsored by BioCell Technology suggested its branded type II collagen (BioCell Collagen) may support recovery after exercise.

Eight people took three grams of the collagen or a placebo for six weeks. On Days 43 and 46 of the study, the volunteers took part in upper body resistance exercise, which included doing eight sets of barbell presses at 75% of body weight until exhaustion. Researchers also took blood samples and looked for markers of muscle tissue damage like creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Those taking the placebo had a greater change in all of these markers. For instance, LDH declined 35 U/L with the collagen but rose 82.9 U/L  with the placebo.

The data were published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.