Method for the production of soluble collagen

Abstract

The invention includes an improved method for producing an aqueous solution of soluble collagen. The method comprises the steps of: (A) providing an aqueous ground slurry of insoluble collagen containing insoluble collagen at a first concentration and at a pH effective to obtain activity for a proteolytic enzyme added in step (B); (B) adding a proteolytic enzyme to said slurry; (C) reacting said slurry and enzyme at a temperature, T.sub.1, and for a time t.sub.1 effective for forming a slurry containing at least some soluble collagen; (D) diluting at least a portion of the slurry formed in step (C) with water to form a diluted slurry containing insoluble collagen at a second concentration; and (E) reacting said diluted slurry obtained in step (D) at a temperature, T.sub.2 and for a time t.sub.2, effective to produce a solution containing an increased amount of soluble collagen. The improved process of the present invention permits the preparation of soluble collagen utilizing reduced amounts of enzyme and water, and requires less time at low concentration for completion of the reaction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.