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 about it 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 glycine derivatives, advertised the amino acid 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 Jinlong.” The video received 87,000 likes and 13,300 shares.
TikTokers who watched his video played along, with one of them commenting “When that Donghua glycine kick hits”, while others are confused about why glycine is getting so popular.
The popularity of the videos have also sparked a series of irreverent comments by TikTokers, who asked the company if they had branded merchandise for sale.
One user commented: “Where can I buy a hoodie?” Donghua Jinlong replied: “?”
Replying another query about T-shirts, the company said: “Sorry, it hasn’t been mentioned yet. It seems like you don’t understand me yet.”
However, a website with the URL donghua-jinlong.com appears to be selling T-shirts, hoodies and caps featuring the company’s logo. The products cost between $42 and $70. It is unclear if the website is linked to the official manufacturer.
Digital media website Mashable reported that the video memes of Donghua Jinlong have become popular because they are a departure from the usual TikTok content such as dance trends, the next must-haves, personal stories and social commentary.
