A method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking-water washing

Abstract

The application provides a method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking and water washing, first, a plant protein aqueous solution with a mass fraction of 5-30% is configured, and a measured amount of a spinning carrier is added, the prepared plant protein spinning solution is poured into a spinning injector of an electrostatic spinning machine, the spinning solution forms a jet under the action of electric field force, and a composite fiber is formed; then the composite fiber is placed into a cross-linking agent solution, and then the fiber is washed with edible ethanol for several times until residual cross-linking agent is removed, finally, the fiber is exposed to air until the edible ethanol is completely volatilized to obtain the cross-linked fiber; and finally, the spinning carrier is eluted. The application produces food-grade plant protein fibers and improves the content of high-quality protein in the plant protein fibers, solves the high sensitivity of electrospinning fibers to water, and applies the electrospinning fibers to the assembly of plant protein meat to simulate the muscle texture caused by muscle fibers in skeletal muscles.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application provides a method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking and water washing, and belongs to the field of novel food processing technology. BACKGROUND

[0002] Meat is the main source of dietary protein, but in recent years, the increase in global meat production and consumption has raised concerns about environmental issues such as land pollution and climate change, greenhouse effect, etc. With the enhancement of people's environmental protection consciousness and health consciousness, consumers' demand gradually shifts to high-quality plant protein that is more ethical, more sustainable and more nutritious, and the development of plant protein meat can meet the demand for high-quality protein supply, the requirement for sustainable development of food industry and the demand for meat consumption of the general public. In addition to the choice and added amount of high-quality plant protein, which is the core of plant protein meat, another key point of plant protein meat is to mimic the texture of animal meat products, and muscle texture depends on the structure and composition of muscle fibers in skeletal muscle. Therefore, the construction and assembly of plant protein fibers with high protein content are particularly important for the production of protein meat.

[0003] The formation of plant protein fiber structure requires further processing, such as heat extrusion, shearing and spinning. Among them, electrospinning is a technology widely used for preparing sub-micron / nanometer level fibers at present, which can deeply simulate the structure of muscle fibers in skeletal muscle compared with heat extrusion and shearing. There are some problems to be solved in the field of food research related to food-grade plant protein fibers by electrospinning technology: (1) Most plant proteins cannot form uniform filamentous fibers in an electric field due to their complex higher-order structure, and need to be mixed with other spinnable polymers as carriers to successfully spin. The presence of spinning carriers reduces the amount of plant protein that can be added, which cannot meet the consumer's demand for high-quality protein intake; (2) The composite fiber mixed with other spinnable polymers has high sensitivity to water, which hinders the application of electrospinning technology in the field of plant protein fiber production. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the defects of the prior art, provide a method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking and water washing, improve the defects of electrospinning technology in the field of plant protein fiber production, produce food-grade plant protein fibers and increase the content of high-quality protein in plant protein fibers, solve the high sensitivity of electrospinning fibers to water and apply them to the assembly of plant protein meat, and simulate the muscle texture of muscle fibers in skeletal muscle.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the present application is as follows:

[0006] A method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking and water washing, comprising the following steps:

[0007] (1) Preparation of composite fibers: configure a plant protein aqueous solution with a mass fraction of 5-30% and add a measured amount of spinning carrier. After complete mixing and uniformity, pour the prepared plant protein spinning solution into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, set the parameters, start the spinning machine, and the spinning solution forms a jet under the action of electric field force to form composite fibers.

[0008] (2) Crosslinked composite fibers: place the composite fibers in a crosslinking agent solution for 10-90 min, then rinse the fibers several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent is removed, and finally expose the fibers to air until the edible ethanol is completely volatilized to obtain crosslinked fibers.

[0009] (3) Elution of the spinning carrier: immerse the crosslinked fibers in a beaker containing distilled water at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 60-120 min, then naturally air dry the fibers at room temperature, and then transfer them to an oven until the weight of the fibers remains unchanged to obtain high-protein plant protein meat biomimetic fibers.

[0010] Further, the plant protein used in step (1) is any one of soybean protein, safflower meal protein, and pea protein.

[0011] Further, the spinning carrier used in step (1) is one or more of cellulose acetate, guar gum, and pullulan, and the carrier amount is 10-90% of the mass of the plant protein.

[0012] Further, the crosslinking agent used in step (2) is any one of cinnamyl aldehyde, genipin, and ferulic acid.

[0013] Further, in step (3), the fibers are naturally air dried for 5 h, and the oven is set to a drying temperature of 50℃.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present application provides a method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by crosslinking-water washing, which takes into account the defects of the current plant protein meat, such as insufficient high protein content and insufficient texture close to animal meat products, and opens up a new and simple feasible way for manufacturing high-protein plant protein meat biomimetic fibers.

[0015] The application firstly mixes plant protein and a carrier to spin to obtain a composite fiber, and then uses a natural crosslinking agent to chemically crosslink the plant protein, which can not only reduce the high sensitivity of the composite fiber to water, but also fix the protein structure in the plant protein fiber. After the protein is crosslinked and fixed, the spinning carrier in the composite fiber is washed out by water washing to obtain a high-protein plant protein fiber. The method not only provides a simple and effective strategy for improving the protein content of edible fiber, but also opens up new ideas and adds new choices for the processing and assembly of plant protein meat. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 The process route map of the application is shown in DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The application will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific examples. The process route used in the following examples of the application is shown in Figure 1

[0018] Example 1:

[0019] Step one, preparation of composite fiber. A 5% mass fraction of soybean protein aqueous solution is configured, a spinning carrier guar gum is added, and the mass ratio of soybean protein to guar gum is fixed at 2:8. After the soybean protein and guar gum are completely mixed and uniform, the prepared soybean protein spinning solution is poured into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, the parameters are set, and the spinning machine is started to work. The spinning solution forms a jet under the action of electric field force to form a composite fiber.

[0020] Step two, crosslinking of composite fiber. The composite fiber is placed in a cinnamyl alcohol solution for 30 min. Then the fiber is washed several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent is removed. Finally, the fiber is exposed to air until the edible ethanol is completely volatilized to obtain the crosslinked fiber.

[0021] Step three, elution of spinning carrier. The crosslinked fiber is completely immersed in a beaker containing distilled water at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 60 min. After soaking, the fiber is naturally air-dried at room temperature for 5 h. Then they are transferred to an oven at 50℃ until the weight of the fiber remains unchanged to obtain a high-protein soybean protein meat biomimetic fiber.

[0022] Example 2:

[0023] ​Step one, preparation of composite fibers. A 10% mass fraction of soy protein aqueous solution was configured, and a spinning carrier cellulose acetate was added, and the mass ratio of soy protein to cellulose acetate was fixed at 4:6. After complete mixing, the prepared soy protein spinning solution was poured into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, the parameters were set, and the spinning machine was started to work. The spinning solution formed a jet under the action of electric field force, and the composite fiber was formed.

[0024] Step two, crosslinking of composite fibers. The composite fibers were placed in a genipin solution for 45 min. Then the fibers were rinsed several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent was removed. Finally, the fibers were exposed to air until the edible ethanol completely volatilized to obtain the crosslinked fibers.

[0025] Step three, elution of the spinning carrier. The crosslinked fibers were completely immersed in a beaker containing distilled water at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 90 min. After soaking, the fibers were naturally air-dried at room temperature for 5 h. Then they were transferred to an oven at 50℃ until the weight of the fibers remained unchanged to obtain high-protein soy protein meat biomimetic fibers.

[0026] Example 3:

[0027] Step one, preparation of composite fibers. A 5% mass fraction of pea protein aqueous solution was configured, and a spinning carrier cellulose acetate was added, and the mass ratio of pea protein to cellulose acetate was fixed at 2:8. After complete mixing, the prepared pea protein spinning solution was poured into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, the parameters were set, and the spinning machine was started to work. The spinning solution formed a jet under the action of electric field force, and the composite fiber was formed.

[0028] Step two, crosslinking of composite fibers. The composite fibers were placed in a ferulic acid solution for 15 min. Then the fibers were rinsed several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent was removed. Finally, the fibers were exposed to air until the edible ethanol completely volatilized to obtain the crosslinked fibers.

[0029] Step three, elution of the spinning carrier. The crosslinked fibers were completely immersed in a beaker containing distilled water at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 60 min. After soaking, the fibers were naturally air-dried at room temperature for 5 h. Then they were transferred to an oven at 50℃ until the weight of the fibers remained unchanged to obtain high-protein pea protein meat biomimetic fibers.

[0030] Example 4:

[0031] Step one, preparation of composite fibers. Configure a 5% mass fraction of safflower meal protein aqueous solution, add a spinning carrier of pullulan, and fix the mass ratio of safflower meal protein to pullulan at 2:8. After complete mixing, pour the prepared safflower meal protein spinning solution into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, set the parameters, start the spinning machine, and form a jet under the action of electric field force to form composite fibers.

[0032] Step two, crosslinking of composite fibers. Place the composite fibers in a cinnamyl aldehyde solution for 15 min. Then rinse the fibers several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent is removed. Finally, expose the fibers to air until the edible ethanol is completely volatilized to obtain crosslinked fibers.

[0033] Step three, elution of the spinning carrier. Completely immerse the crosslinked fibers in a beaker containing distilled water, soak at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 90 min, and then naturally air dry the fibers at room temperature for 5 h. Then transfer them to an oven at 50℃ until the weight of the fibers remains unchanged to obtain high-protein safflower meal protein meat biomimetic fibers.

[0034] Finally, it should be noted that the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not limited thereto. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the specific embodiments of the present application can still be modified or replaced equivalently without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and any modification or equivalent replacement thereof should be covered in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for preparing plant protein meat mimetic fibers by cross-linking- water washing, characterized by Comprising the following steps: (1) Preparation of composite fibers: configure a plant protein aqueous solution with a mass fraction of 5-30% and add a measured amount of spinning carrier. After complete mixing and uniformity, pour the prepared plant protein spinning solution into the spinning injector of the electrospinning machine, set the parameters, start the spinning machine, and form a jet under the action of electric field force to form composite fibers. The plant protein used is any one of soybean protein, safflower meal protein, and pea protein. The spinning carrier used is one or more of cellulose acetate, guar gum, and pullulan. The carrier dosage is 10-90% of the mass of the plant protein. (2) Crosslinking of composite fibers: place the composite fibers in a crosslinking agent solution for 10-90 min, then rinse the fibers several times with edible ethanol until the residual crosslinking agent is removed, and finally expose the fibers to air until the edible ethanol is completely volatilized to obtain crosslinked fibers. (3) Elution of the spinning carrier: completely immerse the crosslinked fibers in a beaker containing distilled water, soak at room temperature of 25±5℃ for 60-120 min, naturally air dry the fibers at room temperature after soaking, then transfer them to an oven until the weight of the fibers remains unchanged to obtain high-protein-content plant protein meat biomimetic fibers.

2. The method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers by cross-linking- water washing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crosslinking agent used in step (2) is any one of cinnamyl aldehyde, genipin, and ferulic acid.

3. The method for preparing plant protein meat biomimetic fibers using cross-linking- water washing according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the fibers are naturally air dried for 5 h, and the oven is set to a drying temperature of 50℃.

Images