Taiwan research team turning grouper byproducts into sports drink

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Taiwan's Fisheries Research Institute has developed a protein-packed instant drink powder from grouper heads, helping make use of a part of the fish that might have gone to waste, and it is now working with a commercial partner to market it.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said in a press release on Tuesday that export demand for Taiwan's frozen grouper fillets has surged in recent years, leaving 20 percent of the fish's flesh remaining in the head and other byproducts during processing.

To prevent that flesh from going to waste, the institute under the MOA studied options for using the fish heads and successfully transformed them into a sports nutrition supplement in collaboration with Fu Jen Catholic University.

The institute said the powder, a high-protein hydrolysate (a product derived from hydrolysis) derived from grouper heads with the jaws removed, contains more than 90 percent crude protein.

Researchers then tested the impact of the powder on fitness and stamina. They used human skeletal muscle cells in vitro to simulate exercise-induced fatigue and found that the powder could reduce lactate accumulation from anaerobic metabolism after exercise by 13 percent.

They also found that laboratory mice fed a single dose of the powder were able to run 1.62 times longer than usual, and their muscle glycogen storage increased to 1.64 times the normal level.

The institute said the powder could tap into the rapidly growing sports nutrition supplement market after selling it on a test basis at the Fu Jen Catholic University campus store in 2025.

It is currently transferring the technology to a private company in the hopes of commercializing the product on a larger scale in the future, the institute said.