by Chia-Chen Pi, Senior Manager, King’s Ground Biotech, Taiwan, and Yun-Jie Tang, Associate Researcher, King’s Ground Biotech, Taiwan
Agricultural waste streams, often viewed as low-value by-products, are increasingly being reconsidered as resources for sustainable animal nutrition. In particular, solid-state fermentation (SSF) is gaining traction as a method to convert these residues into functional feed additives enriched with bioactive compounds. This method not only reduces waste but also supports animal health through nutrition-based disease prevention—an approach aligned with the global push to reduce antibiotic use in livestock systems.
In Taiwan, researchers and biotech developers are exploring SSF as a platform for circular bioeconomy applications in animal agriculture. One such initiative has focused on the transformation of mung bean hulls—an abundant but underutilized agricultural by-product—into an antiviral feed additive with potential cross-species benefits.
Nutritional and functional potential
Mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) is a widely cultivated crop across South, East and Southeast Asia, valued both as a nutritious food source and as traditional herbal medicine. In Taiwan and China, it has long been used for its anti-inflammatory and heat-relieving properties.
Phytochemical analyses have shown that mung beans are rich in flavonoids, polyphenols and polysaccharides, compounds known for their antioxidant, antidiabetic and immunoregulatory activities. These functional components make mung bean an attractive candidate for developing human health-promoting ingredients and as a functional feed additive.
Scientific validation
King’s Ground Biotech (KGBio) presented its latest research on mung bean hull fermentation technology, which was developed in collaboration with National Taiwan University and associated academic partners. A series of peer-reviewed studies published in Veterinary Quarterly and Frontiers in Pharmacology have validated the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of fermented mung bean hull.
Extensive in vitro studies demonstrated that the fermented hull protects host cells from influenza virus–induced cytopathic effects and significantly inhibits viral replication in a concentration-dependent manner. Its antiviral efficacy spans both mammalian (H1N1) and avian (H6N1) influenza strains. Detailed time-of-addition and hemagglutination-inhibition assays revealed that the additive acts at multiple stages of the viral life cycle, providing mechanistic insights into its multifunctional antiviral effects. These studies identified five key antiviral actions:
- Inhibition of viral attachment and penetration – it blocks viral entry by directly binding to viral hemagglutinin (HA) proteins and cellular receptors, preventing the virus from adhering to the host cell surface.
- Interference with endosomal delivery – the product influences cellular endocytosis and viral uncoating/fusion, disrupting an essential step for successful infection.
- Inhibition of α-glucosidase activity – it inhibits α-glucosidase, a key enzyme in the glycosylation process, thereby reducing HA protein trafficking to the cell membrane and impairing viral assembly.
- Suppression of viral release – it reduces neuraminidase (NA) activity, hindering viral budding and propagation.
- Broad-spectrum potential – Because this additive can mask receptor sites and interfere with multiple attachment-dependent processes, it is expected to have inhibitory potential against other red-blood-cell-agglutinating viruses, such as adenoviruses, paramyxoviruses and coronaviruses.
Cross-species applications and field insights
Fermented mung bean hull has been shown to inhibit viral infection at multiple stages, including attachment, penetration and replication, and to reduce the transport of HA proteins, which are essential for viral propagation. These antiviral mechanisms were validated against avian influenza virus (AIV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), feline coronavirus (FCoV) and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), providing robust scientific evidence of efficacy across different viral families.
Furthermore, cellular challenge models and field experiences demonstrate its ability to prophylactically reduce the risk of infection and mitigate adverse post-infection symptomatology, leading to an accelerated recovery rate in affected animal populations.
The fermentation process enhances bioactive molecules such as vitexin and isovitexin, generating ingredients with hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and immune-regulatory properties. This technology, now protected under patents in Taiwan, Japan and the United States, demonstrates both scientific innovation and industrial feasibility.
Through this approach, KGBio has developed Viva®, a fermented mung bean hull product enriched with antiviral and immune-supportive bioactive compounds. This product serves as a natural feed additive for swine and poultry, contributing to sustainable production by improving immune performance and decreasing antibiotic dependence in intensive production systems.
Circular expansion and scalability
At the Taiwan Smart AgriWeek 2025, KGBio showcased the versatility of its fermentation platform by extending the SSF application beyond mung bean hulls to other agri-food residues, particularly used coffee grounds. Through optimised microbial design, these fermented coffee grounds exhibit notable antibacterial and antibiotic-synergistic properties, addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – one of the most critical global challenges in animal health.
Central to this adaptability is a microbial strain library and substrate-matching system, which allows precise control over fermentation outcomes both qualitatively and quantitatively. By fine-tuning microbial interactions to match different substrates, the company generates predictable and reproducible bioactive profiles, proving that circular biotechnology can scale effectively across diverse raw materials.
Sustainability vision
KGBio’s research on antiviral technology derived from mung bean hulls and antibacterial applications of coffee grounds exemplifies a forward-looking approach that integrates scientific validation with environmental sustainability. Through the combination of preventive veterinary medicine, patented fermentation processes and circular economy design, the company effectively transforms agricultural waste into valuable functional ingredients, offering the livestock industry a sustainable pathway to reduce antibiotic reliance, improve animal welfare and minimise ecological impact.
The integration of fermentation science and circular resource utilisation highlights how agriculture by-product valorisation can serve as a cornerstone of sustainable feed innovation. Continued collaboration between academic institutions, biotech firms and the livestock industry will be essential for scaling such technologies and validating them across production systems and geographies.
