More than one-third of collagen is made up of the amino acid glycine, another third is proline and small proportion consists of lysine and other amino acids.
Manganese is required for the activation of prolidase, an enzyme that functions to provide the amino acid proline for collagen formation in human skin cells.
Manganese also stimulates the production of important compounds in the collagen matrix that provides a framework for the mineralization process.
Glycosaminoglycan synthesis, which requires manganese-activated glycosyltransferases, may play an important role in wound healing. Glycosyltransferases is the enzymes that add sugars to protein in the formation of collagen.
Animal studies have found that manganese is involved in making chondroitin, a part of articular cartilage and a common supplement for arthritis relief. Deficiencies of manganese have caused a disorder of cartilage metabolism in farm animals.
Cartilage is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers.
Manganese contributes to the formation of collagen
