Ultraprocessed plant-based foods: Designing the next generation of healthy and sustainable alternatives to animal-based foods

From Palm to Plate: Unveiling the Potential of Coconut as a Plant-Based Food Alternative

This review investigates coconut as a sustainable and nutrient-rich plant-based alternative to traditional animal-based food sources. We have explored the nutritional profile, culinary versatility, particularly focusing on the use of coconut meat, milk, cream, and oil in diverse dietary contexts when consumed in balance. Comparative analysis with animal-derived products reveals the high content of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), essential vitamins, and minerals in coconut, contrasted with its lower protein content. Researchers have underscored the environmental sustainability of coconut, advocating for its role in eco-friendly food production chains. We have also addressed challenges like potential allergies, nutritional balance, sensory attributes, and consumer motivations for coconut-based products, in terms of understanding the market dynamics. In conclusion, this review positions coconut as a promising candidate within sustainable diet frameworks, advocating for further research to augment its nutritional value, sensory characteristics, and product stability, thereby facilitating its integration into health-conscious and eco-centric dietary practices.

Effects and mechanisms of ultrasound-assisted emulsification treatment on the curcumin delivery and digestive properties of myofibrillar protein-carboxymethyl cellulose complex emulsion gel

Different emulsion gel systems are widely applied to deliver functional ingredients. The effects and mechanisms of ultrasound-assisted emulsification (UAE) treatment and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) modifying the curcumin delivery properties and in vitro digestibility of the myofibrillar protein (MP)-soybean oil emulsion gels were investigated. The rheological properties, droplet size, protein and CMC distribution, ultrastructure, surface hydrophobicity, sulfhydryl groups, and zeta potential of emulsion gels were also measured. Results indicate that UAE treatment and CMC addition both improved curcumin encapsulation and protection efficiency in MP emulsion gel, especially for the UAE combined with CMC (UAE-CMC) treatment which encapsulation efficiency, protection efficiency, the release rate, and bioaccessibility of curcumin increased from 86.75 % to 97.67 %, 44.85 % to 68.85 %, 18.44 % to 41.78 %, and 28.68 % to 44.93 % respectively. The protein digestibility during the gastric stage was decreased after the CMC addition and UAE treatment, and the protein digestibility during the intestinal stage was reduced after the CMC addition. The fatty acid release rate was increased after CMC addition and UAE treatment. Apparent viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus were decreased after CMC addition while increased after UAE and UAE-CMC treatment especially the storage modulus increased from 0.26 Pa to 41 Pa after UAE-CMC treatment. The oil size was decreased, the protein and CMC concentration around the oil was increased, and a denser and uniform emulsion gel network structure was formed after UAE treatment. The surface hydrophobicity, free SH groups, and absolute zeta potential were increased after UAE treatment. The UAE-CMC treatment could strengthen the MP emulsion gel structure and decrease the oil size to increase the curcumin delivery properties, and hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction might be essential forces to maintain the emulsion gel.

Novel animal product substitutes: A new category of plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood, egg, and dairy products

Many consumers are adopting plant-centric diets to address the adverse effects of livestock production on the environment, health, and animal welfare. Processed plant-based foods, including animal product analogs (such as meat, seafood, egg, or dairy analogs) and traditional animal product substitutes (such as tofu, seitan, or tempeh), may not be desirable to a broad spectrum of consumers. This article introduces a new category of plant-based foods specifically designed to overcome the limitations of current animal product analogs and substitutes: novel animal product substitutes (NAPS). NAPS are designed to contain high levels of nutrients to be encouraged (such as proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals) and low levels of nutrients to be discouraged (such as salt, sugar, and saturated fat). Moreover, they may be designed to have a wide range of appearances, textures, mouthfeels, and flavors. For instance, they could be red, orange, green, yellow, blue, or beige; they could be spheres, ovals, cubes, or pyramids; they could be hard/soft or brittle/pliable; and they could be lemon, thyme, curry, or chili flavored. Consequently, there is great flexibility in creating NAPS that could be eaten in situations where animal products are normally consumed, for example, with pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, soups, or salads. This article reviews the science behind the formulation of NAPS, highlights factors impacting their appearance, texture, flavor, and nutritional profile, and discusses methods that can be used to formulate, produce, and characterize them. Finally, it stresses the need for further studies on this new category of foods, especially on their sensory and consumer aspects.

Chickpea seed endophyte Enterobacter sp. mediated yield and nutritional enrichment of chickpea for improving human and livestock health

Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) are used as a good source of proteins and energy in the diets of various organisms including humans and animals. Chickpea straws can serve as an alternative option for forage for different ruminants. This research mainly focussed on screening the effects of adding beneficial chickpea seed endophytes on increasing the nutritional properties of the different edible parts of chickpea plants. Two efficient chickpea seed endophytes (Enterobacter sp. strain BHUJPCS-2 and BHUJPCS-8) were selected and applied to the chickpea seeds before sowing in the experiment conducted on clay pots. Chickpea seeds treated with both endophytes showed improved plant growth and biomass accumulation. Notably, improvements in the uptake of mineral nutrients were found in the foliage, pericarp, and seed of the chickpea plants. Additionally, nutritional properties such as total phenolics (0.47, 0.25, and 0.55 folds), total protein (0.04, 0.21, and 0.18 folds), carbohydrate content (0.31, 0.32, and 0.31 folds), and total flavonoid content (0.45, 027, and 0.8 folds) were increased in different parts (foliage, pericarp, and seed) of the chickpea plants compared to the control plants. The seed endophyte-treated plants showed a significant increase in mineral accumulation and improvement in nutrition in the different edible parts of chickpea plants. The results showed that the seed endophyte-mediated increase in dietary and nutrient value of the different parts (pericarp, foliage, and seeds) of chickpea are consumed by humans, whereas the other parts (pericarp and foliage) are used as alternative options for forage and chaff in livestock diets and may have direct effects on their nutritional conditions.

Sustainability benefits of transitioning from current diets to plant-based alternatives or whole-food diets in Sweden

Plant-based alternatives (PBAs) are increasingly becoming part of diets. Here, we investigate the environmental, nutritional, and economic implications of replacing animal-source foods (ASFs) with PBAs or whole foods (WFs) in the Swedish diet. Utilising two functional units (mass and energy), we model vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian scenarios, each based on PBAs or WFs. Our results demonstrate that PBA-rich diets substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions (30-52%), land use (20-45%), and freshwater use (14-27%), with the vegan diet showing the highest reduction potential. We observe comparable environmental benefits when ASFs are replaced with WFs, underscoring the need to reduce ASF consumption. PBA scenarios meet most Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, except for vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium, while enhancing iron, magnesium, folate, and fibre supply and decreasing saturated fat. Daily food expenditure slightly increases in the PBA scenarios (3-5%) and decreases in the WF scenarios (4-17%), with PBA diets being 10-20% more expensive than WF diets. Here we show, that replacing ASFs with PBAs can reduce the environmental impact of current Swedish diets while meeting most nutritional recommendations, but slightly increases food expenditure. We recommend prioritising ASF reduction and diversifying WFs and healthier PBAs to accommodate diverse consumer preferences during dietary transitions.