Comparative study of the functionality of alternative proteins

Abstract

Population growth and the change in old social habits have been driving the demand for protein consumption on the planet. Due to the high economic and environmental costs and the time required to produce traditional animal proteins, the demand for new sources of alternative proteins has been increasing over time. The use of alternative proteins, such as those of plant and insect origin, has become increasingly necessary for the survival and development of humanity. These diverse protein sources require studies to evaluate their technological properties and thus suggest better applications for each of them. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and main functionalities of alternative proteins from plant and insect sources. To this end, the proximal composition (moisture, lipids, proteins, ash and carbohydrates) of alternative proteins from plant sources (Glycine max soybean and Phaseolus vulgaris Pinto Group carioca beans) and insects (Tenebrio molitor mealworm and Gryllus black cricket), as well as, the technological properties of water retention capacity (WRC) and oil retention capacity (ORC), emulsion stability (ES), foaming capacity (FC) and foam stability (FS) were determined. Insect flours had higher protein contents (cricket 65.9% and mealworm 63.8%) compared to vegetable flours (beans 51.4% and soy 38.0%). Soy protein had the highest WRC with a value of 2.8 mL/g, followed by mealworm (1.7 mL/g), cricket (1.7 mL/g) and beans (0.9 mL/g). And as for ORC, the flours presented similar values ​​for soybeans and beans, crickets and mealworms (0.7 mL/g). Protein flours of vegetable origin showed higher ES values, with bean protein at 62.5% and soy protein at 52.5%. Bean flour had the highest FC (66.7%) and FS (94.1%). Insect flours presented promising protein content and technological functionalities for applications and thus contribute to new ingredients for food supplements and food products.