Impact of Green Extraction Technologies on Plant Protein Content and Quality

Abstract

Protein is a vital component of a healthy diet and products derived from plant-based protein sources are being produced and consumed at an increasing rate. The presence of anti-nutritional factors, which limit bioavailability of plant protein, and a lack of sufficient essential amino acids to meet human nutritional requirements are concerning attributes for plant-based protein products and their nutritional quality. Of particular interest are the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), an indication of protein and amino acid bioavailability, and the Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), a growth rate measurement based on quantity of protein consumed. Green methods for processing plant material have been garnering interest from product developers as well as consumers for their reduced environmental impact as well as enhancing the quantity and/or quality of the final protein produced. This chapter presents, where available, a discussion on the content and nutritional quality of plant proteins as determined by PER or PDCAAS following extraction by alkaline extraction and isoelectric precipitation, air classification, high-pressure processing, enzyme-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, reverse micelle protein extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction.