Fish collagen has been under considerable academic and commercial focus recently and has become increasingly popular, particularly in the cosmetic and healthcare industries. Apart from its benefits for skin health, including improved hydration, elasticity and reducing wrinkles, fish skin collagen is also used in wound dressing, promoting faster healing and tissue regeneration.
Fish skin waste is a valuable source of collagen and its content can range from 5 to 30 per cent. Using fish skin waste to extract collagen promotes sustainability by reducing waste and utilising a readily available resource.
The Department of Fish Processing Technology (FPT) at College of Fisheries, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), has developed an effective fish skin collagen-infused ointment, named ‘Aqua-Derma’, with exceptional wound-healing properties.
The scientist concerned, Dr Siddhnath, Assistant Professor (Fish Processing Technology) at GADVASU, said that in-vitro testing of the ointment has demonstrated 45 per cent wound closure within just 24 hours, confirming its bio-active collagen content.
“With a balanced pH of 4.8, it mimics the natural skin pH, fostering optimal healing conditions. Additionally, the ointment offers excellent spreadability of 3.0 cm per gram, ensuring easy and uniform application. Further, its high moisture content (50.3 per cent) provides deep hydration, resulting in soft and healthy skin,” he added.
Dr Meera D Ansal, Dean, College of Fisheries, highlighted that ‘Aqua-Derma’ involves sustainable valorisation of fish processing waste (fish skin) into a high-value economic woundcare product.
“Beyond its therapeutic benefits, ‘Aqua-Derma’ also offers an effective natural skincare solution, besides addressing environmental issues associated with disposal of fish processing waste,” she added.
Fish skin constitutes about 20 per cent of the processing waste generated from Pangas catfish. From 1,000 kg of Pangas catfish, about 100 kg of skin biomass is produced, from which 10 kg collagen can be extracted to make 200 kg of ‘Aqua-Derma’ ointment.
After in-vivo livestock and human testing, the said ointment will be ready for commercial launch, informed Dr Siddnath and associated scientist, Dr Vijay Kumar Reddy.
Dr Parkash Singh Brar, Director of Research, highlighted the fact that the existing collagen-based health/medical product market is dominated by bovine and porcine collagen, while ‘Aqua-Derma’ is made from fish-based collagen, which is expected to attract wider consumer acceptance without any religious apprehensions.
Meanwhile, Dr JPS Gill, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU, said that fish collagen-based multipurpose ointment will fit well into the global medical collagen market, valued at USD 2.98 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 5.21 billion in 2032, owing to an increasing demand for collagen-based anti-aging health and wound-healing medical products among all age-groups.