If you have spent any time comparing collagen supplements, you will probably have seen two words repeatedly:
Bovine.
Marine.
Both describe where the collagen comes from.
The difference sounds important. But it is often explained with rather more marketing than necessary.
Here is the simpler version.
What is bovine collagen?
Bovine collagen comes from cattle.
The collagen used in supplements is normally processed and hydrolysed, meaning it is broken down into smaller collagen peptides.
Collibre Gold uses hydrolysed bovine collagen sourced in Germany.
Each 30 ml bottle contains 10 g – or 10,000 mg – of collagen.
What is marine collagen?
Marine collagen comes from fish.
Like bovine collagen, it is usually hydrolysed before being used in supplements.
The main difference, therefore, begins with the source.
One comes from cattle.
The other comes from fish.
That sounds almost too simple, but it is an important starting point.
Is marine collagen better than bovine collagen?
You will find plenty of confident answers to this question online.
We would be more cautious.
Collagen research continues to develop, and different studies use different sources, peptide preparations, doses and formulations.
It is therefore difficult to reduce the whole subject to:
marine = better
or
bovine = better.
The more useful question is what you are actually getting in the product you are considering.
Look beyond the source
Whether collagen is bovine or marine is only one part of the label.
We would also check:
How much collagen is in the daily serving?
A product may contain collagen without containing the same amount as another product.
Is it hydrolysed?
Hydrolysed collagen has been broken into smaller peptides.
Where does it come from?
A brand should be able to tell you the source of its main ingredient.
What else is in the formulation?
A collagen product can contain much more than collagen.
Collibre Gold, for example, combines its 10 g collagen dose with twelve vitamins, including 80 mg of vitamin C.
Will you actually take it regularly?
Powder, capsule, sachet or bottle can make a considerable difference to how easily something fits into everyday life.
Why Collibre uses bovine collagen
We chose hydrolysed bovine collagen for Collibre Gold.
It is sourced in Germany and then used in our finished formulation made in Poland.
We prefer being specific about this.
Not simply “European collagen”.
Not simply “premium peptides”.
Bovine collagen. Sourced in Germany. 10 g in every daily bottle.
That gives you something factual to compare.
What about the vitamins?
It is also worth separating collagen from the other ingredients in the bottle.
Collibre Gold contains twelve vitamins.
One of them is vitamin C.
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones and cartilage.
That is an authorised health claim for vitamin C.
It is not a claim that bovine collagen itself will produce a particular result.
We explain that distinction in more detail on our Evidence Page.
So which should you choose?
There is no need to turn bovine versus marine collagen into a contest.
Instead, compare the products.
Look at the source.
Look at the dose.
Read the ingredients.
Check the claims.
Consider the format.
Then choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
For Collibre, that means a simple answer:
10 g of hydrolysed bovine collagen in one 30 ml daily shot.
No need to make it more complicated than that.