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Collagen is the main connective tissue protein in animals. It is found exclusively in metazoans, including sponges, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, accounting for approximately 25% to 35% of the body’s protein content. As the main component of endomysium, collagen includes between one and two percent of the muscle tissue and represents six percent of the weight of the muscles. Collagen is also an important component of cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bones, and skin. Its natural tensile strength is evident in the strength and elasticity of the skin and blood vessels. It also contributes to vision and is located in the cornea and lens of the eye in crystalline form. It is widely used in the medical profession, being an essential component of many cosmetic, dental, orthopedic, and burn surgery procedures.
However, there have been concerns about the use of bovine collagen since the outbreak of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), of which BSE garnered the most media attention. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease (DCM) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, of about 4 years, which usually affects adult cattle at a maximum age of onset of four to five years, with all breeds being equally susceptible. In the UK, the worst affected country, more than 179,000 cattle have been infected and 4.4 million slaughtered during the eradication program.
Most scientists believe that the disease can be transmitted to humans who eat the brain or spinal cord of infected corpses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy (note 3). In humans, it is known as a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and, by February 2009, it had killed 164 people in Britain and 42 elsewhere, with the number expected to rise due to the long period. incubation of the disease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy (note 4). Between 460,000 and 482,000 BSE-infected animals had entered the human food chain before high-risk offal controls were introduced in 1989.
A British investigation into BSE concluded that the epidemic was caused by cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal, causing the spread of the infectious agent. The origin of the disease itself remains unknown. The infectious agent is distinguished by the high temperatures at which it remains viable; This contributed to the spread of the disease in Britain, which had reduced the temperatures used during its extraction process. Another contributing factor was feeding infected protein supplements to very young calves.
Collagen products prepared from bovine materials may carry the risk of transmission of BSE agents of animal origin. Collagen users in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and surgical industries should ensure that bovine materials are free of TSEs and materials from other animal species in which TSEs occur naturally. To ensure this happens, bovine materials must be sourced from countries that have a BSE surveillance system in place and that report zero or BSE cases.
According to a European Commission study conducted by the European Food Safety Authority to assess the risk of finding BSE in various countries, New Zealand is one of the few countries that does not have TSE, and not a single case of BSE has been diagnosed . in either of the two countries. Experimentation in the UK and the EU has used New Zealand cattle as guaranteed BSE-free controls. As a result, New Zealand has earned a reputation for providing high-quality BSE-free bovine collagen to the international market.