Fibroblast-activating potency of a hydrolysate of purified collagen and a tissue hydrolysate from sturgeon skin

Caviar is the primary marketable product of sturgeon aquaculture; therefore, other body parts, including the meat, are generally discarded after the caviar harvest. In the present study, we evaluated the fibroblast-activating potency of a hydrolysate of purified collagen from sturgeon skin (CH) and a skin-tissue hydrolysate (TH). The objective was to transform caviar by-products into value-added products, including an anti-aging substance for cosmeceuticals. The results indicated that the CH was more potent against L929 fibroblast proliferation/metabolism than the TH, suggesting that CH is the primary active substance in the TH. Because fractionation of the CH by molecular mass had limited effects on L929 proliferation/metabolism, multiple peptide sequences with a broad molecular mass range activated L929 proliferation/metabolism. Furthermore, a high dose of TH inhibited fibroblast migration, whereas the CH did not exhibit such inhibitory activity. These data suggest that the cosmeceutical application of CH is promising because the efficient transdermal penetration of collagen peptides with a broad molecular mass range has been reported. Moreover, the collagen purification procedure eliminated fibroblast migration-inhibiting substance(s) from the sturgeon skin. Therefore, a simple and industrially applicable method for purifying collagen from sturgeon skin must be developed for the future use of the CH.