Veganism is becoming a lifestyle choice among several millennials. But there are still certain questions. For example, are meat substitutes such as suds protein, nuts, legumes or fake meat sufficient to meet the body’s protein requirements? A new study has found that the proteins found in a plant-based alternative to chicken are not as readily available to human cells as those from the meat.
The study was published in the journal “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.”
For the study, Da Chen, Osvaldo Campanella and their colleagues examined the possibility that human cells can also absorb the same amount of peptides from a meat substitute as from a chicken.
The process of extrusion allowed the researchers to create a meat alternative made from wheat gluten and soy. When cut open, the pieces of material resembled chicken. After it was ground, the pieces were broken down using an enzyme commonly used by humans to digest food.
The tests, done under lab conditions in a test tube rather than in the human body, revealed that the peptides from the plant-based meat substitutes were less soluble in water than those from chicken. They also didn’t work well with human cells.
The aim of the study, according to the researchers, is for nutritionists to develop new strategies to increase the uptake of these peptides from plant proteins by human cells using other ingredients.
