Ever heard of industrial grade glycine?

Never? Not many people have either.

But the amino acid, which one’s body uses to create protein, appears to be the latest obsession of TikTokers, with memes and explainer videos sprouting up on the social media platform.

What sparked the craze was a series of TikTok videos posted from December 2023 by a Chinese glycine manufacturing company named Shijiazhuang Donghua Jinlong Chemical, which have gone viral.

The manufacturer’s most popular video, which was uploaded on March 28, has garnered close to 700,000 views, 72,200 likes and 24,000 shares so far.

The company, which also produces other glycine products, advertised the product as a safe “seasoning, sweetener, or nutritional supplement”.

Glycine can also be used in pickles, sweet sauces, soy sauce, vinegar and juices to boost their flavours and textures, the company added. The quality, it said, is “top-notch”. The taste? Superior.

According to a study published by the US National Library of Medicine, glycine can protect one’s lung, brain, stomach and intestine.

The manufacturer’s videos have led netizens to produce their own parodies.

One TikToker called robbfilms created a glycine espresso and explained that it is Donghua Jinlong’s new product.

In the video, he said: “If you’re sourcing your sodium glycinate from any other place, I promise you that it is not as high quality as Donghua ...