Peptides are small groups of amino acids yes? Silk Amino Acids have the amino profile of a silk protein but not in the form of peptide chains therefore they can claim to be silk amino acids as that is what they are.
If someone made a product called beef amino acids then I would expect an amino acid profile (not in protein or peptide form) of that of beef.
Well, part of this issue is honestly the fault of the people performing the studies. For some reason, the titles of these studies have used the terms SAA and hydrolyzed silk protein interchangably, despite clearly using hydrolyzed silk protein in their material preparation, and referring to sericin peptides in the text of their studies
So while it is not dishonest to say that your free form amino acids from silk protein are indeed 'Silk Amino Acids', they are not silk amino acids in the context of the material that was studied.
I know it might come across as if I'm splitting hairs, but my point in all of this is that people should be either adhering to the evidence suggested by published science, or doing due diligence on their own to publish data to support their claims.
If you want to say your silk amino acids are going to have the exact same effects as hydrolyzed silk protein/sericin peptides, then demonstrate it. Don't just ask consumers to buy your product and demonstrate it for themselves.
And in the end, the point still stands that
if you consider the effects of silk protein to be elicited solely from the free form amino acid content, then why silk protein? A free form amino acid is the same regardless of source. Why pay a premium based on that source if it's irrelevant? Does anyone have data to suggest that free form amino acids from silk outperform free form amino acids from any other source assuming an identical profile?
And finally, I'm now pretty sure no company has put out a sericin-peptide/hydrolzyed silk protein product, so I'll be attempting to procure my own for self-testing purposes. Will update eventually after I get quotes back from some people.
