Improved functional properties of meat analogs by laccase catalyzed protein and pectin crosslinks

Kiyota Sakai,Masamichi Okada,Shotaro Yamaguchi,Yukihide Sato

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96058-4

Abstract

The gap between the current supply and future demand of meat has increased the need to produce plant-based meat analogs. Methylcellulose (MC) is used in most commercial products. Consumers and manufacturers require the development of other novel binding systems, as MC is not chemical-free. We aimed to develop a novel chemical-free binding system for meat analogs. First, we found that laccase (LC) synergistically crosslinks proteins and sugar beet pectin (SBP). To investigate the ability of these SBP-protein crosslinks, textured vegetable protein (TVP) was used. The presence of LC and SBP improved the moldability and binding ability of patties, regardless of the type, shape, and size of TVPs. The hardness of LC-treated patties with SBP reached 32.2 N, which was 1.7- and 7.9-fold higher than that of patties with MC and transglutaminase-treated patties. Additionally, the cooking loss and water/oil-holding capacity of LC-treated patties with SBP improved by up to 8.9–9.4% and 5.8–11.3%, compared with patties with MC. Moreover, after gastrointestinal digestion, free amino nitrogen released from LC-treated patties with SBP was 2.3-fold higher than that released from patties with MC. This is the first study to report protein-SBP crosslinks by LC as chemical-free novel binding systems for meat analogs.

Highlights

The gap between the current supply and future demand of meat has increased the need to produce plant-based meat analogs
When adding various amounts of water and oil, the water and oil holding capacity of LC-treated patties with sugar beet pectin (SBP) increased by up to 5.8–11.3% and 5.8–12.4% compared with patties with MC and TG-treated patties, respectively. These findings indicate that textured vegetable protein (TVP)-SBP crosslinks catalyzed by LC are superior to the high-network formed by MC, indicating that LC-treated patties containing SBP were juicier
Replacing MC with TVP-SBP crosslinks catalyzed by LC as a binding system enhanced the digestibility of plant-based meat analog patties (Fig. 5a)

Summary

Introduction

The gap between the current supply and future demand of meat has increased the need to produce plant-based meat analogs. After gastrointestinal digestion, free amino nitrogen released from LC-treated patties with SBP was 2.3-fold higher than that released from patties with MC This is the first study to report protein-SBP crosslinks by LC as chemical-free novel binding systems for meat analogs. There is a gap between the present supply and future demand of meat; there is an increasing need to produce plant-based meat analogs as protein sources. These properties are crucial for the consumers’ acceptance of food products and, remain a critical obstacle[13] Another challenge for plant-based meat analogs is the presence of anti-nutritional factors, such as protease inhibitors, tannins, and phytates. Based on the above issue, there are many remaining challenges in making plant-based meat analogs available to a wide range of consumers

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Results

Conclusion