Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment
Consumers are shifting to a plant-based lifestyle worldwide as more sustainable and healthier alternatives. However, despite the increasing popularity of plant-based vegan products, scientific evidence on their nutritional quality and health effects is still lacking. This study assessed the nutritio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hasan Eleroğlu
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Turkish Journal of Agriculture: Food Science and Technology |
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| Online Access: | https://agrifoodscience.com/index.php/TURJAF/article/view/7436 |
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| author | Sermin Durak Ayşe Nur Demirci Aleyna Çavdar Yasemin Yılmazer Serap Andaç İsmail Hakkı Tekiner |
| author_facet | Sermin Durak Ayşe Nur Demirci Aleyna Çavdar Yasemin Yılmazer Serap Andaç İsmail Hakkı Tekiner |
| author_sort | Sermin Durak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Consumers are shifting to a plant-based lifestyle worldwide as more sustainable and healthier alternatives. However, despite the increasing popularity of plant-based vegan products, scientific evidence on their nutritional quality and health effects is still lacking. This study assessed the nutritional and cytotoxic characteristics of the vegan and regular cheese varieties sold in the retail markets in Istanbul, Türkiye in terms of total protein content, amino acid profile, vitamin B, calcium, and in vitro cytotoxicity using Kjeldahl, LC-MS/MS, HLPC, ICP-MS, and in vitro MTS assay, respectively. Our findings showed that the protein content in the regular cheese varieties was 20.7%, while it was 13.3% in vegan tofu only. The ratio between essential and non-essential amino acids in the regular and vegan tofu cheeses was 36.0/64.0 and 38.0/62.0, respectively. Vitamins B6, B9, and B12 were detected in none of the varieties, and calcium levels were found to be 568.1 in the regular cheeses and 17.8 mg/100 g in the vegan cheeses. Besides, in vitro, MTS assay demonstrated that regular cheese Roquefort and vegan varieties significantly decreased the cell viability of the HTC-116 human colon cancer cell line. Overall, the current research highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the vegan cheese types better to understand their nutritional, pre- and clinical toxicity, and bioavailability characteristics in a dose and time-dependent manner using advanced techniques and improving the nutritional quality of vegan products remains a challenge for the food industry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-531439bce4a249edbf4747db4dfef9ca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2148-127X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Hasan Eleroğlu |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Turkish Journal of Agriculture: Food Science and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-531439bce4a249edbf4747db4dfef9ca2025-08-20T02:05:31ZengHasan EleroğluTurkish Journal of Agriculture: Food Science and Technology2148-127X2025-04-011341034104110.24925/turjaf.v13i4.1034-1041.74366137Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic AssessmentSermin Durak0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-4345Ayşe Nur Demirci1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2665-6927Aleyna Çavdar2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1835-8911Yasemin Yılmazer3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2190-073XSerap Andaç4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6253-4118İsmail Hakkı Tekiner5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7248-2446Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, 34100, Istanbul, TürkiyeIstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, 34303, Istanbul, TürkiyeIstanbul Gelişim University, Vocational School of Health Services, Department of Biomedical Device Technology, 34310, Istanbul, TürkiyeIstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, DepartmeIstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, 34303, Istanbul, TürkiyeIndependent Researcher, Istanbul, TürkiyeConsumers are shifting to a plant-based lifestyle worldwide as more sustainable and healthier alternatives. However, despite the increasing popularity of plant-based vegan products, scientific evidence on their nutritional quality and health effects is still lacking. This study assessed the nutritional and cytotoxic characteristics of the vegan and regular cheese varieties sold in the retail markets in Istanbul, Türkiye in terms of total protein content, amino acid profile, vitamin B, calcium, and in vitro cytotoxicity using Kjeldahl, LC-MS/MS, HLPC, ICP-MS, and in vitro MTS assay, respectively. Our findings showed that the protein content in the regular cheese varieties was 20.7%, while it was 13.3% in vegan tofu only. The ratio between essential and non-essential amino acids in the regular and vegan tofu cheeses was 36.0/64.0 and 38.0/62.0, respectively. Vitamins B6, B9, and B12 were detected in none of the varieties, and calcium levels were found to be 568.1 in the regular cheeses and 17.8 mg/100 g in the vegan cheeses. Besides, in vitro, MTS assay demonstrated that regular cheese Roquefort and vegan varieties significantly decreased the cell viability of the HTC-116 human colon cancer cell line. Overall, the current research highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the vegan cheese types better to understand their nutritional, pre- and clinical toxicity, and bioavailability characteristics in a dose and time-dependent manner using advanced techniques and improving the nutritional quality of vegan products remains a challenge for the food industry.https://agrifoodscience.com/index.php/TURJAF/article/view/7436foodnutritioncytotoxicityvegan cheeseplant-based proteinregular cheese |
| spellingShingle | Sermin Durak Ayşe Nur Demirci Aleyna Çavdar Yasemin Yılmazer Serap Andaç İsmail Hakkı Tekiner Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment Turkish Journal of Agriculture: Food Science and Technology food nutrition cytotoxicity vegan cheese plant-based protein regular cheese |
| title | Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment |
| title_full | Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment |
| title_fullStr | Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment |
| title_short | Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment |
| title_sort | vegan cheese versus regular cheese a nutritional and cytotoxic assessment |
| topic | food nutrition cytotoxicity vegan cheese plant-based protein regular cheese |
| url | https://agrifoodscience.com/index.php/TURJAF/article/view/7436 |
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