Purolite helps Gelatin and Hydrolyzed Collagen Producers Improve Product Quality
Gelatin is a protein-based substance derived from bones, skin and other tissues of animals such as cows, pigs, chickens and other animals. Gelatin and collagen are made from the by-products of the meat and leather. Both gelatin and collagen contain many amino acids such as glycine, glutamic acid, proline, alanine, arginine and hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine, and other essential amino acids.
Although the gelatin industry has suffered in the past because of commoditization and the increase in followers of vegan diets, both gelatin and collagen are increasing in popularity for their possible health benefits. According to a July 2018 report by Research and Markets, the global collagen peptide and gelatin market size was valued at $3,727.34 MUSD in 2017 and is expected to reach $6,729 MUSD by 2025.
Although medical studies are not conclusive, proponents of gelatin and collagen supplements claim that they support digestive and skin repair, inflammation management and blood sugar control.
A primary difference between gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen is that gelatin is composed of long-chain amino acids, whereas collagen is made from short chain collagen peptides, and therefore may be more readily adsorbed by the body (and therefore have greater health benefits.) The difference occurs in the production process. After more aggressively processing the long-chains of amino acids contained in gelatin/collagen through hydrolysis (chemical process involving water), collagen is broken down into smaller peptides (compounds with two or more amino acids are linked in a chain) to form hydrolyzed collagen, or collagen peptides.
Industry potential is strong, but there are also limitations due to increasing food regulations and consumer preferences for tasteless, colorless and odorless food additives.
Purolite was approached by global producers of gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen to help them maximize taste and odor compound removal from their final hydrolyzed collagen products. They tried other types of adsorbents, including activated carbon and other synthetic adsorbents, but they had limited success with improvements in taste.
They knew of Purolite due to our involvement and expertise in the industry and we became part of their technical discussions about the possible use of Purolite adsorbents in their process.
After evaluating the size of the molecules, we selected some popular Purolite adsorbent samples based on their porosity and hydrophobicity characteristics—and sent them to the company’s team for testing using our recommended lab test procedure. Purolite Macronet™ MN102 was chosen as the best option for the application as it far surpassed any other solution.
Although initially hesitant to try a new solution, removing the taste and odor compounds enabled the customer to better differentiate their products as health and wellness supplements and become relevant in a growing business sector.
Purolite is also helping some producers to improve color of gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen with Purolite® A420S or Purolite Shallow Shell™ SSTPFA64.
Why Purolite?
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