Decolorization and detoxication of plant-based proteins using hydrogen peroxide and catalase

Protein-glutaminase improves water-/oil-holding capacity and beany off-flavor profiles of plant-based meat analogs

An unresolved challenge for plant-based meat analogs (PBMAs) is their lack of juiciness. Saturated fats significantly contribute to the juiciness of PBMAs, but there are concerns about the undesirable health effects related to saturated fats; thus, demand for their replacement with vegetable unsaturated oils has increased. Although many food additives are used to reduce the leakage of unsaturated oils, this solution cannot meet the clean-label requirements that have been trending in recent years. In this study, we aimed to develop better consumer-acceptable methods using protein-glutaminase (PG) to improve the juiciness of PBMA patties to meet clean-label trends. We found no significant difference between the visual surface of control and PG-treated textured vegetable proteins (TVPs). However, the microstructure of PG-treated TVP had a more rounded shape than that of the control TVP as observed under a scanning electron microscope. After grilling process, the PBMA patties composed of PG-treated TVP showed significantly higher liquid-holding capacities (a juiciness indicator) than the control patties. This suggested that PG treatment could potentially produce PBMA patties with increased juiciness. Interestingly, after the PG-treated TVP underwent the wash process, we found that PG treatment of TVP easily reduced the various beany off-flavor compounds by 58-85%. Moreover, the results of the in vitro protein digestion test showed that the amounts of free amino nitrogen released from PBMA patties composed of PG-treated TVP were 1.5- and 1.7-fold higher than those from control patties in the gastric and intestinal phases, respectively. These findings indicate that PG treatment of TVP could enhance the physical, sensory, and nutritional properties of PBMA patties and meet the clean-label requirements.

A holistic approach toward development of plant-based meat alternatives through incorporation of novel microalgae-based ingredients

This study explored the changes in the physiochemical, textural, sensory, and functional characteristics of plant-based meat (PBM) after incorporating novel plant-based ingredients including spirulina (SPI), duck Weed (DW), and yellow Chlorella (YC). In the chromaticity evaluation, the YC group (YCI YC2, and YC3%) displayed significant differences (p < 0.05) in lightness (L*) indices as compared to the control. Whereas, based on concertation gradient of SPI microalgae (SP0.5, SP0.7, and SP1%) incorporated into PBM patties demonstrated that SPI 1 had the lowest values (p < 0.05) in redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) followed by SPI 0.7 and SPI 0.5% concentration, respectively. The concentration gradient of the YC group indicated that YC3 was intended to be the highest crude fat value followed by YC2 and YCI. The ash content in PBM patties increased considerably (p < 0.05) as the concentration level of microalgae advanced in all treated groups. Based on the concentration level of YC incorporated microalgae into PBM patties indicated that YC 3 had the highest (p < 0.05) gumminess and chewiness while YC 1 had the lowest reported values in terms of gumminess and chewiness. Moreover, springiness and cohesiveness showed considerable differences between SPI and YC groups. In the sensory evaluation, SPI 1 showed the lowest value only in color and appearance (p < 0.05), conversely, the other sensory parameters were non-significant among all treatment groups (p > 0.05). The micronutrient in PBM presented an irregular pattern after incorporating various ingredients. However, levels were higher (p < 0.05) in the DW group (DW 0.5 DW 0.7, and DW% 1) than those in the other groups. Moreover, the SPI and YC groups showed detectable levels of diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity with, SP 1 showing the highest level of antioxidant activity. Acknowledging the limited research on PBM production, extraction technologies, and selecting various novel suitable ingredients in meat substitutes. Hence, to fill this knowledge gap an attempt has been made to incorporate various concentrations of microalgae including SPI, YC, and DW to enhance the quality and functionality of meat alternatives. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that describes the physiochemical, textural, sensory, and nutritional attributes of PBM incorporated with novel microalgae. Collectively these results indicate that the incorporation of SPI, DW, and YC may improve the quality of PBM without showing deleterious outcomes on the quality and functionality of the ultimate PBM products.

Production and Analytical Aspects of Natural Pigments to Enhance Alternative Meat Product Color

Color is a major feature that strongly influences the consumer's perception, selection, and acceptance of various foods. An improved understanding regarding bio-safety protocols, health welfare, and the nutritional importance of food colorants has shifted the attention of the scientific community toward natural pigments to replace their toxic synthetic counterparts. However, owing to safety and toxicity concerns, incorporating natural colorants directly from viable sources into plant-based meat (PBM) has many limitations. Nonetheless, over time, safe and cheap extraction techniques have been developed to extract the purified form of coloring agents from raw materials to be incorporated into PBM products. Subsequently, extracted anthocyanin has displayed compounds like Delphinidin-3-mono glucoside (D3G) at 3.1 min and Petunidin-3-mono glucoside (P3G) at 5.1 277, 515, and 546 nm at chromatographic lambda. Fe-pheophytin was successfully generated from chlorophyll through the ion exchange method. Likewise, the optical density (OD) of synthesized leghemoglobin (LegH) indicated that pBHA bacteria grow more rigorously containing ampicillin with a dilution factor of 10 after 1 h of inoculation. The potential LegH sequence was identified at 2500 bp through gel electrophoresis. The color coordinates and absorbance level of natural pigments showed significant differences (p < 0.05) with the control. The development of coloring agents originating from natural sources for PBM can be considered advantageous compared to animal myoglobin in terms of health and functionality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to produce natural coloring agents for PBM by extracting and developing chlorophyll from spinach, extracting anthocyanins from black beans, and inserting recombinant plasmids into microorganisms to produce LegH.