Plant proteins and vegetarian foods: a vast subject! That’s why at NutriFizz we’ve decided to devote an article to this booming field, to help you better understand the keys to developing new, nutritionally optimized plant-based products.
Vegetable proteins are macronutrients. Like animal proteins, they provide us with energy (4 kcal/g) and help build our muscles and skeleton.
However, unlike animal proteins, the amino acid content of plant proteins is not equivalent. Which means?
Proteins are made up of a sequence of different amino acids. There are 20 amino acids that make up our body’s proteins. However, some of these amino acids (9) must be supplied by our diet, as our body cannot manufacture them. These amino acids are therefore considered “essential”. While animal proteins contain all the indispensable amino acids in sufficient proportions to make proteins for our bodies, this is not the case with plant proteins. They generally contain all essential amino acids, but in inadequate proportions (these are known as limiting amino acids, and can be identified using the chemical index defined by ANSES in 2007[1] in comparison with a reference protein).
Cereals and pulses (also known as legumes), as well as oilseeds, are among the main sources of vegetable protein. The French National Nutrition and Health Program recommends increasing our consumption of these ingredients, not only for their protein content, but also for their dietary fiber, omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
However, if we return to amino acids… cereals are generally deficient in lysine and legumes in cysteine/methionine. It is therefore important to ensure that they complement each other to optimize protein synthesis. A mix of animal and plant proteins can also be very useful. The aim is to diversify our intake and benefit from the nutritional advantages of each food source.
Protein digestibility is also an essential factor in assessing protein quality. Digestibility, assessed by various scores such as PD-CAAS or DIAAS[2]is generally lower for plant proteins than for animal proteins. A great deal of research is being carried out to identify and compare the digestibility of different raw materials, and to evaluate the impact of the process in order to find the most interesting alternatives. In fact, it’s not enough to ingest protein in quantity; it’s also important to ensure its quality, so that it is useful to our bodies and our health.
Ancestral processes such as germination, fermentation and, more recently, extrusion are being studied to assess how to improve protein digestibility, and initial results are very promising.
At NutriFizz, we keep a close eye on all the latest developments in this field and can help you with research projects as well as with the development of judicious products to meet the nutritional needs of different consumer targets (omnivores, flexitarians, vegetarians, vegans…).
This year, in partnership with Cluster Bio and Ingrébio, we carried out a study aimed at assessing the nutritional quality of plant proteins, identifying ingredient suppliers on the French and European markets, and evaluating consumer perceptions of the current multitude of products on offer. The results of this study are available for a fee via Cluster Bio. A training course to update your knowledge of plant proteins is also available on an inter- or intra-company basis. To find out more, please contact Cluster Bio (contact: Bastien Boissonnier) or theNutriFizz team. We will also be present at the Forum des Ingrédients Bio during the Natexpo 2022 trade show, with several conferences on the subject.
[1] ANSES, 2007 – Protein intake: consumption, quality, needs and recommendations
[2] Tessier et al, 2021 – The underside of PD-CAAS and DIAAS, two seemingly simple nutritional quality criteria
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