Jellyfish Collagen Combined With Seaweed Extracts Creates Promising Wound Healing Hydrogel | Research

The takeaway

A novel hydrogel combining jellyfish collagen peptides with brown algae extract showed potential for wound healing and skin repair.

Dual marine sources
Hydrogel combines jellyfish collagen peptides for tissue regeneration with seaweed extract for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects

What the researchers found

A composite hydrogel formulated from jellyfish collagen peptides and brown algae extract showed characteristics suitable for wound healing and skin repair applications.

Why it matters

Chronic wounds are a growing healthcare burden. Marine-derived biomaterials offer sustainable, biocompatible alternatives to synthetic wound dressings with built-in biological activity.

The numbers in context

Collagen peptides from Rhizostoma pulmo jellyfish. Hydroethanolic extracts from Cystoseira barbata brown alga. Assessed polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, total phenol content, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity.

How the study worked

Materials development study characterizing a composite hydrogel from Rhizostoma pulmo jellyfish collagen peptides and Cystoseira barbata seaweed extract, both from the Romanian Black Sea coast.

Who was studied

Not applicable (biomaterials study)

What this study cannot tell us

Preliminary materials characterization study. Wound healing efficacy has not been tested in animal models or clinical settings.

How to read the evidence

Preliminary biomaterials development study. The hydrogel has been characterized but not yet tested for actual wound healing in biological systems.

When this study was published

Published in 2025, advancing the growing field of marine-derived biomaterials for healthcare.

The bigger picture

The oceans are a largely untapped source of biomaterials for healthcare. Combining different marine organisms in composite materials could create synergistic wound healing products.

Questions still open

How does this jellyfish-seaweed hydrogel compare to existing commercial wound dressings?
Can jellyfish collagen be sustainably harvested at scale for medical applications?

Common questions

Why use jellyfish collagen for wound healing?

Jellyfish collagen is similar to mammalian collagen but can be sustainably sourced from jellyfish populations that are actually increasing due to climate change. It supports cell growth and tissue regeneration without the ethical concerns of animal-derived collagen.

What does the seaweed extract add?

Brown algae like Cystoseira barbata contain compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce wound inflammation and protect healing tissue from oxidative damage.

Read the original research

Marine Jellyfish Collagen and Other Bioactive Natural Compounds from the Sea, with Significant Potential for Wound Healing and Repair Materials.

Marine drugs, 23(6)

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Pesterau, Ana-Maria; Popescu, Antoanela; Sirbu, Rodica; Cadar, Emin; Busuricu, Florica; Dragan, Ana-Maria Laura; Pascale, Carolina; Ionescu, Ana-Maria; Bogdan-Andreescu, Claudia Florina; Radu, Marius-Daniel; Tomescu, Cezar Laurentiu. (2025). Marine Jellyfish Collagen and Other Bioactive Natural Compounds from the Sea, with Significant Potential for Wound Healing and Repair Materials.. Marine drugs, 23(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/md23060252