Plant-based foods are being increasingly favored to feed the ever-growing population, but these need to exhibit improved nutritional value in terms of protein quality and digestibility to be considered a useful alternative to animal-based foods. Germination is essential for plant growth and represents a viable method through which the protein quality of plants can be further improved. However, it will be a challenge to maintain efficient rates of germination in a changing climate when seeds are sown. In the context of the indoor germination of seeds for food, consumption, or processing purposes, a more efficient and sustainable process is desired. Therefore, novel techniques to facilitate seed germination are required. Pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment of seeds results in the permeabilization of the cell membrane, allowing water to be taken up more quickly and triggering biochemical changes to the macromolecules in the seed during germination. Therefore, PEF could be a chemical-free approach to induce a stress response in seeds, leading to the production of secondary metabolites known to exert beneficial effects on human health. However, this application of PEF, though promising, requires further research to optimize its impact on the protein and bioactive compounds in germinating seeds.

Plant proteins are increasingly incorporated into food products to enhance their nutritional value. However, little is known about how this alters the textural perceptions of such products. This study investigated the substitution of up to 35% wheat flour with pea protein isolate (PPI) into pasta sheets to determine how this influenced texture. Furthermore, an in vivo human mastication test (n = 116 participants) was conducted to evaluate oral tactile perceptions (perceived firmness, stickiness, and brittleness) and chewing time associated with PPI-containing pasta. Cooked pasta hardness decreased from 145 to 96 N at 5% PPI substitution due to the disruption of gluten network but increased to 144 N at 15–25% PPI substitution, indicating a stronger protein network at higher PPI substitution levels. In vivo, pasta substituted with 25% PPI required a shorter chewing time and was perceived as less firm, less sticky, and more brittle than wheat flour-only pasta. Regardless of pasta samples, fast chewers (average chewing time ≤13 s) were better at recognizing differences in pasta firmness, while slow chewers (>13 s) were more sensitive to changes in stickiness and brittleness. The results obtained in this study could contribute to the design of protein-rich pasta tailored to populations with specific texture requirements (e.g., softer texture for the elderly).

Background/Objectives: Metabolic (dysfunction)-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the hepatic consequence of metabolic syndrome, affects 30% of the global population. Studies in animals and humans investigating the effect of fructose on MASLD present conflicting findings, while in vitro methods often fail to add meaningful evidence due to acute exposures (<72 h) and non-physiological concentrations. This study aimed to determine the effect of fructose on triglyceride (TG) accumulation in HepG2 cells following acute and chronic exposures and assess its effect on the expression of genes related to de novo lipogenesis (DNL). Methods: TG concentration was measured after 48 h in response to fructose (20 mM) or glucose (20 mM), with or without a fatty acid mixture (oleic acid/palmitic acid 110 µM/55 µM), in low (5.5 mM)- and high (25.5 mM)-glucose media. To model chronic exposure, cells were maintained in fructose, glucose, or fatty acids for 28 days and the TG concentration was determined every 7 days. The effect of fructose on DNL regulators (SREBPF1, NR1H3, FASN, and ACACA) was determined using qPCR. Results: Neither fructose nor glucose, with or without fatty acids, changed the TG levels in cells at 48 h and the media glucose concentration had no effect on this result. Similarly, fructose did not increase TG levels after 28 days. While fructose and glucose did not affect key DNL genes at 6 h, the fatty acid mixture reduced FASN by 41%. Conclusions: This study shows that fructose did not significantly impact TG synthesis or DNL gene expression in the HepG2 cell model. Future studies should consider using primary human hepatocytes or more complex in vitro models.