The ingredients developed by the COA’s Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) are Fuso-trehalose — a sugar that exists in algae, mushroom, bean, shrimp and bread — and “instant kanten” — the Japanese name for agar.

Wu Chun-heng, director of the FRI’s Seafood Technology Division, said that in addition to the effect in moderating blood pressure and lipid level, Fuso trehalose is also capable of enhancing the defensive mechanism against pathogenic viruses and bacteria in the human immune system.

“Japan physicians have long experience in using trehalose compounds as a supplementary treatment for cancer patients,” Wu said.

Wu said Fuso-trehalose can be used as a food ingredient because its chemical structure can sustain environments of 121 Celsius degrees for 30 minutes or 100 Celsius degrees for one hour — the temperatures and times usually used for food sterilization.

Besides, the trehalose made by Japanese companies has only 80-percent purity, while the FRI’s Fuso-trehalose has a purity of 90 percent or higher, which makes the refined ingredient very competitive in the market, Wu said, adding that the relevant technologies have been passed on to a local company.

In the case of instant kanten, Wu said the products currently available on the market are neither easy to cook nor easy to carry, thus the FRI came up with the idea of making instant noodle-like kanten products, which contain kanten powder that can be brewed with hot water at 85 Celsius degrees.

FRI Researchers said that dietary fiber-laced kanten can be used as meal replacements for patients with metabolic syndrome or persons who wish to control their body weight.