The power of plant proteins in human diet: what do we know about their digestibility?

A. Hedhili, M. Guillevic, M. Dufrechou
The integration of alternative proteins, especially plant proteins, in the human diet is a growing topic nowadays. The goal is to broaden the protein sources in order to reduce the animal protein consumption and the environmental impact in a sustainable way. The objective of this study, part of the AAPRO Chair (Advantages and Acceptability of Alternative PROteins), is to compare the nutritional contribution of different legumes such as chickpeas, green lentils, white beans, yellow peas, faba beans and soybeans known as a source of protein. Some studies have worked on the protein digestibility of pulses proteins, however, results are difficult to compare due to difference in digestion parameters used. To fill this gap, through this work, the characterization of these legumes is realized by determining the protein concentration and also with some anti-nutritional factors (ANF). The determination of the % of in vitro protein digestibility (%IVPD) of these different legumes following the static simulating digestion method (INFOGEST) is performed. The impact of the ANF contents (tannins, vicine, convicine) as well as the application of different process (dehulling, cooking, concentration) on protein digestibility are studied. As a result, a high ANF contents leads to a decrease in the % of protein digestibility. The application of certain process reduces the amounts of ANF and make the proteins more accessible to the digestion. This comparison between raw material using same methodologies mainly for protein digestibility can allow us to diversify and improve the use of legumes in food products.
Hedhili, A., Guillevic, M. and Dufrechou, M. (2024). The power of plant proteins in human diet: what do we know about their digestibility?. Acta Hortic. 1407, 107-114
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1407.14
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1407.14
plant proteins, legumes, in vitro protein digestibility, antinutritional factors, process
English

Acta Horticulturae