A beverage comprising a collagen hydrolysate is disclosed. Absorption of the collagen hydrolysate in the intestinal tract can be modulated depending on the molecular weight of the collagen peptides and the presence of certain additives. The optimal concentration of 10,000 dalton collagen hydrolysate for intestinal absorption is about 8.4 g/l which does not appreciably increase even if the collagen concentration is increased to 20, 30 or even 40 g/l in the presence or absence of whey protein. In contrast, the absorption of a 2,000 Dalton collagen hydrolysate composition that does not contain additional proteins is shown to be enhanced by the addition of supplements including vitamins and/or CO.sub.2. The absorption is shown to increase with collagen concentration up to an optimal concentration of about 20 g/l. At collagen concentrations greater then about 20 g/l, the absorption of the collagen peptides remains constant, thus the percentage of collagen hydrolysate that is absorbed declines.

The present invention relates to a hydrolyzed collagen formulation for use in decreasing blood glucose. The hydrolyzed collagen is obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of a collagen-containing material with a combination of enzymes comprising two or more enzymes selected from the group consisting of a neutral protease, a carboxypeptidase, and an aminopeptidase. The hydrolyzed collagen formulation is particularly suitable as a food supplement, such as for use in ameliorating hyperglycemia and/or a risk factor hyperglycemia.

The present invention is in the fields of medicinal chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The invention provides compositions comprising one or more collagen mimetic peptides, optionally attached to one or more therapeutic compounds or one or more imaging compounds, for use in methods of treating, preventing, ameliorating, curing and diagnosing certain diseases and physical disorders in humans and veterinary animals, as well as methods of manufacturing such composition. The invention also provides medical devices comprising one or more such compositions of the invention. The invention also provides methods of use of such compositions and devices in treating and diagnosing certain diseases and physical disorders in humans and veterinary animals, including ocular diseases or disorders, skin diseases or disorders, certain cancers, particularly intraluminal cancers, gastrointestinal diseases or disorders, genitourinary tract diseases or disorders, fibrotic diseases/disorders and rheumatic diseases/disorders.

The present invention concerns a method of generating a population of skeletal muscle derived human muscle precursor cells. For this purpose, a specialized FBS-free cell growth medium is used. The invention further concerns a composition comprising such a population of hMPCs for use as a medicament, especially in the treatment of skeletal muscle dysfunction.

Formulations comprising complexes of peptides with hydrophobic bioactive molecules are described herein. The invention more specifically relates to collagen peptide and curcuminoid complexes and compositions comprising the complexes. The compositions and formulations comprising the protein hydrolysate peptide-hydrophobic bioactive molecule complexes are water-soluble, stable at physiological and acidic pH, synergistically enhance the systemic bioavailability of the biomolecules and peptides, and are capable of delivering a high therapeutically effective amount of the bioactive molecules via oral route. The compositions and formulations comprising the collagen peptide-curcuminoid complexes provide significantly high levels of bioavailable curcuminoids that are water soluble and stable at physiological and acidic pH along with significant anti-inflammatory effects offered by collagen peptides. The invention further provides a process for preparing the peptide-bioactive molecule complexes, compositions and oral formulations comprising the collagen peptide-curcuminoid complex.

The present invention relates to a method for reducing lipopolysaccharides activity and/or lipopolysaccharides in a collagen-containing and/or collagen-derived product and products obtained by the method. The method comprises the steps of providing a collagen-containing and/or collagen-derived product comprising lipopolysaccharides, contacting the collagen-containing and/or collagen-derived product comprising lipopolysaccharides with a polyglycol ether of a fatty alcohol to provide a mixture and recovering a collagen-containing and/or collagen-derived product.

The current invention pertains to a use of collagen hydrolysate as an active ingredient in ameliorating sleep. The collagen hydrolysate is preferably used in absence of other sleep-enhancing compounds, to achieve the highest sleep-enhancing effects and/or to not counteract the inherent sleep-enhancing effects of collagen hydrolysate. The invention furthermore pertains to a ccomposition comprising at least 97.5 wt. %, preferably 97.5 wt. % collagen hydrolysate as active ingredient and no more than 2.5 wt. %, preferably 2.5 wt. % of one or more further compounds capable of modulating sleep. The invention also pertains to a sleep-ameliorating composition, consisting essentially of collagen hydrolysate and/or comprising essentially no further compound capable of modulating sleep.

The present invention is in the fields of medicinal chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The invention provides compositions comprising one or more collagen mimetic peptides, optionally attached to one or more therapeutic compounds or one or more imaging compounds, for use in methods of treating, preventing, ameliorating, curing and diagnosing certain diseases and physical disorders in humans and veterinary animals, as well as methods of manufacturing such composition. The invention also provides medical devices comprising one or more such compositions of the invention. The invention also provides methods of use of such compositions and devices in treating and diagnosing certain diseases and physical disorders in humans and veterinary animals, including ocular diseases or disorders, skin diseases or disorders, certain cancers, particularly intraluminal cancers, gastrointestinal diseases or disorders, genitourinary tract diseases or disorders, fibrotic diseases/disorders and rheumatic diseases/disorders.

A composition for treatment of nosebleeds includes gelatin in a range of about 50% to about 67% by volume in powdered form, flavoring in a range of about 23% to about 37% by volume in powdered form, and sweetener in a range of about 5% to about 20% by volume in powdered form.

The present invention relates to a composition comprising chondroitin sulfate and collagen hydrolysate, for use in ameliorating pain, preferably for use in ameliorating joint pain after exercise. The present invention furthermore relates to a method of preparing said composition by hydrolysis of a collagen-containing material comprising different types of collagen. The composition is preferably administered as a food supplement.