The aim of this study was to determine the key physicochemical, sensory and quality attributes of plant-based yogurts made from soy, coconut, cashew, almond and hemp, including a dairy benchmark yogurt. The soy, coconut and cashew-based yogurts showed textural parameters comparable to the dairy yogurt, with firmness values of 0.46, 0.44, 0.51 and 0.36 N, respectively. Rheological analysis showed that one of the soy-based yogurts was similar to the dairy yogurt in terms of apparent viscosity, in addition to water-holding capacity (82.8% and 75.7%, respectively). Other plant-based yogurts, e.g., hemp, showed different rheological and textural parameters to the other plant-based products, relating this to the agar and rice starch components of the hemp formulation. The sensory analysis demonstrated that some plant-based yogurts were similarly appreciated to dairy-based products. This was due mainly to the presence of specific hydrocolloids, sweeteners and flavours in the formulations; for example, the acceptability of the soy- and dairy-based yogurts were identical (5.95). The results obtained in this study allowed identification of key quality attributes of plant-based yogurt products and highlighted relationships between such attributes and formulation, which can be exploited in future product development.

Dry fractionated faba bean protein-rich flour (FPR) produced by milling/air classification, and faba bean protein isolate (FPI) produced by acid extraction/isoelectric precipitation were compared in terms of composition, techno-functional properties, nutritional properties and environmental impacts. FPR had a lower protein content (64.1%, dry matter (DM)) compared to FPI (90.1%, DM), due to the inherent limitations of air classification. Of the two ingredients, FPR demonstrated superior functionality, including higher protein solubility (85%), compared to FPI (32%) at pH 7. Foaming capacity was higher for FPR, although foam stability was similar for both ingredients. FPR had greater gelling ability compared to FPI. The higher carbohydrate content of FPR may have contributed to this difference. An amino acid (AA) analysis revealed that both ingredients were low in sulfur-containing AAs, with FPR having a slightly higher level than FPI. The potential nutritional benefits of the aqueous process compared to the dry process used in this study were apparent in the higher in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) and lower trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) in FPI compared to FPR. Additionally, vicine/convicine were detected in FPR, but not in FPI. Furthermore, much lower levels of fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) were found in FPI compared to FPR. The life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed a lower environmental impact for FPR, partly due to the extra water and energy required for aqueous processing. However, in a comparison with cow’s milk protein, both FPR and FPI were shown to have considerably lower environmental impacts.

Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) is a pulse consumed all over the world, representing a good source of protein, as well as fat, fiber, and other carbohydrates. As a result of the growing global population the demand for the protein component of this pulse is increasing and various approaches have been proposed and developed to extract same. In this review the composition, functionality, and applications of chickpea protein ingredients are described. Moreover, methods to enhance protein quality have been identified, as well as applications of the coproducts resulting from protein extraction and processing. The principal dry and wet protein enrichment approaches, resulting in protein concentrates and isolates, include air classification, alkaline/acid extraction, salt extraction, isoelectric precipitation, and membrane filtration. Chickpea proteins exhibit good functional properties such as solubility, water and oil absorption capacity, emulsifying, foaming, and gelling. During protein enrichment, the functionality of protein can be enhanced in addition to primary processing (e.g., germination and dehulling, fermentation, enzymatic treatments). Different applications of chickpea protein ingredients, and their coproducts, have been identified in research, highlighting the potential of these ingredients for novel product development and improvement of the nutritional profile of existing food products. Formulations to meet consumer needs in terms of healthy and sustainable foods have been investigated in the literature and can be further explored. Future research may be useful to improve applications of the specific coproducts that result from the extraction of chickpea proteins, thereby leading to more sustainable processes.

Soy protein isolate (SPI) powders often have poor water solubility, particularly at pH values close to neutral, which is an attribute that is an issue for its incorporation into complex nutritional systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to improve SPI solubility while maintaining low viscosity. Thus, the intention was to examine the solubility and rheological properties of a commercial SPI powder at pH values of 2.0, 6.9, and 9.0, and determine if heat treatment at acidic or alkaline conditions might positively influence protein solubility, once re-adjusted back to pH 6.9. Adjusting the pH of SPI dispersions from pH 6.9 to 2.0 or 9.0 led to an increase in protein solubility with a concomitant increase in viscosity at 20 °C. Meanwhile, heat treatment at 90 °C significantly improved the solubility at all pH values and resulted in a decrease in viscosity in samples heated at pH 9.0. All SPI dispersions measured under low-amplitude rheological conditions showed elastic-like behaviour (i.e., G′ > G″), indicating a weak “gel-like” structure at frequencies less than 10 Hz. In summary, the physical properties of SPI can be manipulated through heat treatment under acidic or alkaline conditions when the protein subunits are dissociated, before re-adjusting to pH 6.9.

Human milk is the ideal nutrition source for healthy infants during the first six months of life and a detailed characterisation of the composition of milk from mothers that deliver prematurely (<37 weeks gestation), and of how human milk changes during lactation, would benefit our understanding of the nutritional requirements of premature infants. Individual milk samples from mothers delivering prematurely and at term were collected. The human milk metabolome, established by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, was influenced by gestational and lactation age. Metabolite profiling identified that levels of valine, leucine, betaine, and creatinine were increased in colostrum from term mothers compared with mature milk, while those of glutamate, caprylate, and caprate were increased in mature term milk compared with colostrum. Levels of oligosaccharides, citrate, and creatinine were increased in pre-term colostrum, while those of caprylate, caprate, valine, leucine, glutamate, and pantothenate increased with time postpartum. There were differences between pre-term and full-term milk in the levels of carnitine, caprylate, caprate, pantothenate, urea, lactose, oligosaccharides, citrate, phosphocholine, choline, and formate. These findings suggest that the metabolome of pre-term milk changes within 5–7 weeks postpartum to resemble that of term milk, independent of time of gestation at pre-mature delivery.

Similarly prepared protein isolates from blue lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) and white lupin (L. albus) were assessed in relation to their composition, functional properties, nutritional attributes and environmental impacts. Blue lupin protein isolate (BLPI) and white lupin protein isolate (WLPI) were found to be quite similar in composition, although differences in the electrophoretic protein profiles were apparent. Both lupin protein isolates (LPIs) had good protein solubility (76.9% for BLPI and 69.8% for WLPI at pH 7) and foaming properties. However, a remarkable difference in heat gelation performance was observed between BLPI and WLPI. WLPI had a minimum gelling concentration of 7% protein, whereas BLPI required 23% protein in order to form a gel. WLPI also resulted in stronger gels over a range of concentrations compared to BLPI. Nutritional properties of both LPIs were similar, with no significant differences in in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD), and both had very low trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) and fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) content. The amino acid profiles of both LPIs were also similar, with sulfur-containing amino acids (SAAs) being the limiting amino acid in each case. Environmental impacts revealed by the life cycle assessment (LCA) were almost identical for BLPI and WLPI, and in most categories the LPIs demonstrated considerably better performance per kg protein when compared to cow’s whole milk powder.