Leaf protein for food use: potential of Rubisco

Abstract

Leaf protein was discovered and characterized in 1773 by Rouelle [1] who was demonstrator at the ‘Jardin du Roi’ in Paris. The historical background of these studies was reviewed by Pirie [2]. His pioneering work since World War II threw light on the fairly good nutritive value of leaf protein concentrate (LPC) which can be obtained quite easily from the leaves of a variety of plant sources [2, 3]. This LPC is usually obtained by heat coagulation of the whole protein in the juice produced by pressing disintegrated leaves.