Use of Protein By-Products Obtained from Aquatic Organisms as Bioactive Compounds: A Bibliometric Review

Protein compounds such as collagen, gelatine and peptide hydrolysates extracted from fish by-products have attracted much attention for their extensive applications in food technology. These compounds have high bioactive potential and have antioxidant, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, antifreeze and technological functions. This review provides a bibliometric survey on obtaining protein compounds from by-products of aquatic organisms. Original scientific and review articles were searched on the Web of Science Core Collection data platform. The results proved that fish by-product proteins are widely used as functional ingredients for food production. China, the United States, Spain and Brazil, as well as institutions related to these countries, were the most academically productive in terms of research on fish by-product proteins. It was also found that many researchers and journals focused exclusively on this field. These results underscore the importance of research on fish by-product proteins for diverse applications such as food additives, and for promoting an innovative and beneficial alternative for human nutrition.