Integration of fishbone deep processing technology with animal experiments on inventive calcium supplements for aquatic circular economy

Calcium is a crucial health element at all stages and animal byproduct bones have been deemed as suitable supplement products to convert nutrition facts for people in need. On the other hand, the higher the byproduct utilization rate and value created, the more the main products contribution to the aquatic circular economy and the health benefits of calcium products. However, the ratio of processing byproducts discarded or sold at low prices has always remained at high levels because of drug or heavy metal residues in most animal species, the difficulty of obtaining bones, gaps in processing technology, and lack of validation of products as the main factor in terms of calcium components. As such, calcium supplements are primarily being chemically synthesized and natural calcium products account for only a small share of the market. This study focuses on precise calcium supplementation for public health by using grouper fishbone byproducts as raw materials. The fishbone byproducts are firstly pulverized to powder through creative processing technology and a series of verifications are carried out for the presence of heavy metals, drug residues, and the content of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and other nutrients. Additionally, an animal experiment is conducted to verify the effect on calcium-related health elements such as osteocalcin, cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, serum calcium, and serum phosphorus. The experimental design followed the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan's regulations on the evaluation of bone health efficacy for health foods. The experimental rats were divided into five groups in terms of ovariectomized (OVX, blank), grouper fishbone powder (OV+FBC), algal calcium (OV+SC, commercial), carbonate calcium (OV+Carbonate, commercial), and citrate calcium (OV+Citrate, commercial). Results obtained from the 12-week experiment showed that in the control group, fishbone powder significantly affected osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol, serum phosphorus and serum calcium compared to blank and commercial groups. Notably, a significant finding showed an increase of 57.39% in osteocalcin in the OV+FBC group and 31.63%, 12.63%, and 12.12% respective to the groups of OV+Citrate, OV+SC, and OV+Carbonate, compared to the OVX group, confirming the health benefits of fishbone calcium. This work successfully integrates the aquaculture industry, fish byproduct processing technologies, and products validated through animal experiments to demonstrate the efficacy of calcium in specific elements. As the demonstration of experimental results on health element effects vary, the usual calcium content and absorption rates should not be simply defined, rather than considering functionality. Significant findings include providing a method by which the mass byproducts generated can be resolved in connection with aquatic circular economy benefits and processing technology for the industry.