Protein digestibility and iron bioaccessibility of plant-based meat analogues

Abstract

Understanding the nutritional quality of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) is important for consumers, manufacturers, and health professionals. This study examined nine commercial PBMAs, focusing on protein digestibility and iron dialyzability. In vitro protein digestibility ranged from 81 to 96%, comparable to meat (86–90%), and was highest in protein concentrates and isolates (97–99%). Extrusion conditions (150–750 rpm, 100–160 °C) had minimal impact on digestibility but significantly affected texture and sensory properties. Dialysable iron in PBMAs was lower (2–5%) than in fungi-based products (15–32%) and meat (2–40%), though PBMAs had higher total iron content. Iron fortification using ferrous citrate, fumarate, sulphate and ferric pyrophosphate yielded dialysable iron values of 1.9–3.4%. These findings provide valuable insights into the nutritional composition of PBMAs and highlight opportunities to optimize processing for improved iron bioavailability.