Abstract
Plant materials that are used for the production of extruded meat analogs are often nutritionally incomplete and also contain antinutrients, thus there is a need to explore alternative plant proteins and pre-treatments. This study demonstrates application of phytase and fermentation to a pea-oat protein blend with a good essential amino acid profile and subsequent texturization using extrusion cooking. Enzymatic treatment reduced the content of antinutrient phytic acid by 32%. Extrusion also degraded phytic acid by up to 18%, but the effect depended on the material. Differences in physicochemical, sensorial, and textural properties between untreated and phytase-treated extruded meat analogs were small. In contrast, fermented material was more difficult to texturize due to degradation of macromolecules; physicochemical and textural properties of extrudates were markedly different; sensory analysis showed enhancement of flavor, but also detected an increase in some unwanted taste attributes (bitterness, cereal and off-taste). Phytic acid was not degraded by fermentation. Analysis of volatile compounds showed extrusion eliminated volatiles from the raw material but introduced Maillard reaction products. Overall, phytase treatment and fermentation demonstrated the potential for application in extruded meat analogs but also highlighted the necessity of optimization of process conditions.
Highlights
Demand for plant protein sources to replace meat is growing due to the concerns of environmental sustainability, human health, and ethical reasons [1]
Extrusion was successfully applied to produce fibrous meat analogs from the pea-oat protein blend. This blend fulfills minimum recommended amounts of essential amino acids for adults according to FAO; it contains 1.5% of phytic acid, a known antinutrient
Fermentation had a strong effect on the extrusion process and physicochemical, textural, and sensorial properties of extrudates
Summary
Demand for plant protein sources to replace meat is growing due to the concerns of environmental sustainability, human health, and ethical reasons [1]. Traditional plant-based meat substitutes such as tofu or seitan have limited acceptance in Western diets, meat analogs in the form of textured vegetable proteins are rapidly gaining popularity [2]. Used soybean protein and wheat gluten form good meat-like texture, but their limitation is significant allergenicity and in the case of gluten, the poor nutritional profile of essential amino acids [4]. This makes the producers consider alternatives—pea, oat, fava bean, and other proteins that are currently found in commercial products [5]. Oat and pea proteins are limited in some essential amino acids, their mixture has an improved nutritional profile due to their complementarity [6]
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