Building animal-free protein one molecule at a time

Researchers at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) are developing protein-rich alternatives to meat, offering consumers nutritious and sustainable food options.

“There are a lot of concerns around animal-based products,” says Sajid Maqsood, a professor in UAEU’s Department of Food Science. “Plant-based proteins are considered more sustainable, more resource efficient and less likely to lead to disease transmission between animals and humans.”

There has been a global surge in interest in meat alternatives, and the market is expected to reach $49.5bn by 2036. But many products still fail to capture the texture of meat, which is deterring prospective customers.

The team at UAEU adopted a “bottom-up approach”, Maqsood says. They studied the interactions of different plant proteins at a molecular level to identify combinations that create a texture that is similar to meat. They used a technique called molecular docking simulation – which is often used in drug discovery – to see which proteins were compatible and could form the desired structure. “That has helped to predict which proteins behave better when used in combination,” he says.

So far, they have made analogues of chicken, fish and eggs, says Ibrahim Khalifa, a food scientist at UAEU. In an article published in Food Hydrocolloids, Maqsood and Khalifa, in collaboration with researchers from Jiangsu University in China, the National University of Singapore and Benha University in Egypt, showed that it is possible to 3D print a fish alternative. They used soy, mung and potato proteins to replicate the texture of fish.

A benefit of their approach is that it is possible to fortify the analogue to make it more nutritious and healthier. For example, real fish contains very little fibre, says Khalifa. But they are able to include fibre in their fish analogue formula.

The use of 3D printing also offers many advantages. First, it is possible to make a protein-packed object in any shape. This could be particularly important for children, as food can be printed into shapes that children want to eat, says Khalifa. Another benefit is that there is much less waste than in traditional manufacturing processes. “You can create your design, adjust the dimensions and size, and then print it from liquid to solid,” he says. “3D printing minimises the waste by 95 per cent.”

Maqsood says that UAEU researchers have collaborated extensively with scholars at other universities, such as Jiangsu University in China and the National University of Singapore. “These universities are well established in alternative protein research,” he says. “It’s all about complementing each other’s expertise and knowledge in this particular area.”

Khalifa hopes to include more machine-learning and artificial intelligence in the research. That way, the team can screen many more potential proteins and increase the possible combinations of proteins, allowing them to develop more meat alternatives.

The next step for Maqsood is to test the post-printing process and consumer perception. “We need, first, to see what other combinations are suitable, and then we have to work on the products’ stability, their taste and consumer perception,” Maqsood says.

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