Difference Between Collagen and Retinol

The key difference between collagen and retinol is that collagen is a structural protein in our body, whereas retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food.

Collagen is a biochemical substance, which is a structural protein in the extracellular matrix that can be found in the various connective tissues in our body. Retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food items, and it is useful as a dietary supplement.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Collagen 
3. What is Retinol
4. Side by Side Comparison – Collagen vs Retinol in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Collagen?

Collagen is a biochemical substance and a structural protein in the extracellular matrix that can be found in the various connective tissues of our body. It is the main component of the connective tissue and the most abundant protein in mammals. This protein makes up about 25 to 35% of the proteins in the body.

When considering the structure of collagen, it contains amino acids that are bonded to each other, forming a triple helix structure of elongated fibril. This structure is also known as a collagen helix. We can mostly find this protein in connective tissues, including cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments and skin.

Figure 01: Collagen Structure

We can find this protein in two different forms depending on the mineralization of this protein. The two forms are rigid form (similar to the protein in bones) and compliant form (such as in tendon). However, we can sometimes find a gradient from rigid to compliant, as in cartilage.

The collagen protein is abundant in corneas, blood vessels, the gut, intervertebral discs, and the dentin in teeth. Furthermore, we can find collagen in muscle tissue, where it serves as a major component of the endomysium. Typically, collagen forms one to two percent of muscle tissue, and it tends to account for 6% of the total weight of strong and tendinous muscles.

What is Retinol

Retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food items, and it is useful as a dietary supplement. This substance is also known as Vitamin A1. When considering the uses of this vitamin, it is an important ingredient in dietary supplements, and it undergoes ingestion to treat and prevent us from vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to xerophthalmia.

Figure 02: Chemical Structure of Retinol

If we take retinol in normal doses, our body can easily tolerate it, but if the dose is high, it can result in an enlarged liver, dry skin, or hypervitaminosis A. Furthermore, taking a high dose of retinol during the pregnancy can harm the baby. When taking this vitamin orally, it gets converted into retinal and retinoic acid. These forms are the active forms of retinol in our body.

What is the Difference Between Collagen and Retinol?

Collagen is a biochemical substance and a structural protein in the extracellular matrix that can be found in the various connective tissues of our body. Meanwhile, retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food items, and it is useful as a dietary supplement. Thus, the key difference between collagen and retinol is that collagen is a structural protein in our body, whereas retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food.

Below is a summary of the difference between collagen and retinol in tabular form.

Summary – Collagen vs Retinol

Collagen is a biochemical substance and a structural protein in the extracellular matrix that can be found in the various connective tissues of our body. Retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food items and is useful as a dietary supplement. The key difference between collagen and retinol is that collagen is a structural protein in our body, whereas retinol is a type of vitamin that occurs in food.

Reference:

1. “Collagen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 May 2021, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Collagen” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

2. “All-trans-Retinol2” By NEUROtiker (talk) – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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