Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins

Shifting from animal- to plant-based proteins will be essential to address climate change, pollution, food insecurity, and biodiversity issues. Pulses are an abundant, affordable, and resilient agricultural crop that is rich in proteins. However, the application of pulse proteins in food products is...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fatemeh Aghababaei, David Julian McClements, Milad Hadidi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Future Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833525000875
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849699525122326528
author Fatemeh Aghababaei
David Julian McClements
Milad Hadidi
author_facet Fatemeh Aghababaei
David Julian McClements
Milad Hadidi
author_sort Fatemeh Aghababaei
collection DOAJ
description Shifting from animal- to plant-based proteins will be essential to address climate change, pollution, food insecurity, and biodiversity issues. Pulses are an abundant, affordable, and resilient agricultural crop that is rich in proteins. However, the application of pulse proteins in food products is often limited due to their poor functional, nutritional, and sensorial properties. This review article begins by highlighting the molecular characteristics of pulse proteins, including their composition and structure. It then discusses the limitations to their more widespread use in foods, including their low digestibility, the presence of anti-nutritional factors, the deficiency in some essential amino acids, their high allergenicity, the presence of off-flavors, and their restricted techno-functionality. The potential of several processing technologies to overcome these challenges are then assessed, including extrusion, fermentation, sonication, radiation, and enzymatic treatments. Previous research findings have demonstrated that many of these technologies can be used to enhance the functional, sensorial, and nutritional qualities of pulse proteins. Further development and application of these technologies may help to address the challenges currently holding back the more widespread application of pulse protein ingredients in foods.
format Article
id doaj-art-69e7c4d95bf6427ca77a72f5619fcd2d
institution DOAJ
issn 2666-8335
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Future Foods
spelling doaj-art-69e7c4d95bf6427ca77a72f5619fcd2d2025-08-20T03:18:34ZengElsevierFuture Foods2666-83352025-06-011110062410.1016/j.fufo.2025.100624Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteinsFatemeh Aghababaei0David Julian McClements1Milad Hadidi2Aora Health, Calle Via de los Poblados, 17, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United StatesInstitute of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090, Austria; Corresponding author.Shifting from animal- to plant-based proteins will be essential to address climate change, pollution, food insecurity, and biodiversity issues. Pulses are an abundant, affordable, and resilient agricultural crop that is rich in proteins. However, the application of pulse proteins in food products is often limited due to their poor functional, nutritional, and sensorial properties. This review article begins by highlighting the molecular characteristics of pulse proteins, including their composition and structure. It then discusses the limitations to their more widespread use in foods, including their low digestibility, the presence of anti-nutritional factors, the deficiency in some essential amino acids, their high allergenicity, the presence of off-flavors, and their restricted techno-functionality. The potential of several processing technologies to overcome these challenges are then assessed, including extrusion, fermentation, sonication, radiation, and enzymatic treatments. Previous research findings have demonstrated that many of these technologies can be used to enhance the functional, sensorial, and nutritional qualities of pulse proteins. Further development and application of these technologies may help to address the challenges currently holding back the more widespread application of pulse protein ingredients in foods.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833525000875Plant proteinsDigestibilityNutritional valueEmerging technologyFunctionality
spellingShingle Fatemeh Aghababaei
David Julian McClements
Milad Hadidi
Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
Future Foods
Plant proteins
Digestibility
Nutritional value
Emerging technology
Functionality
title Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
title_full Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
title_fullStr Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
title_full_unstemmed Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
title_short Strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
title_sort strategies to overcome nutritional and technological limitations of pulse proteins
topic Plant proteins
Digestibility
Nutritional value
Emerging technology
Functionality
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833525000875
work_keys_str_mv AT fatemehaghababaei strategiestoovercomenutritionalandtechnologicallimitationsofpulseproteins
AT davidjulianmcclements strategiestoovercomenutritionalandtechnologicallimitationsofpulseproteins
AT miladhadidi strategiestoovercomenutritionalandtechnologicallimitationsofpulseproteins