Bionic meat product based on fragmented hypha and multi-level printing path as well as preparation method and special ink thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of bionic meat products, in particular to a bionic meat product based on fragmented mycelia and a multi-level printing path as well as a preparation method and special ink thereof, and the special ink comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 10-20% of fragmented mycelia, 24-30% of vegetable protein, 0.5-1.5% of hydrophilic colloid and the balance of water. The controllable fragmentation technology is adopted, the core technical problem that long fibers block a spray head is creatively solved, natural fibers are possibly used in fine 3D printing, and a real and microscopic fiber basis is brought to products. The design of a multi-level bionic printing path is proposed for the first time, and a complex internal structure with directional arrangement and anisotropy is constructed by simulating growth logic from myofibril to muscle bundles, so that the texture and mechanical properties of a product are improved from'muddy meat 'to'bionic meat' level.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of biomimetic meat products, and in particular to a biomimetic meat product based on fragmented mycelium and a multi-level printing path, a preparation method thereof and a special ink. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, mainstream plant meat manufacturing technologies, such as high-moisture extrusion or fiber drawing, can form a certain fibrous structure, but the internal structure is often uniform and macroscopic, and it is difficult to accurately simulate the complex, ordered and multi-level natural structure of real animal muscle composed of myofibrils, muscle fibers and muscle bundles. These result in a significant gap between existing products and real meat in terms of texture (such as tenderness, elasticity, and tearing sensation) and sensory experience.

[0003] 3D printing technology, as an additive manufacturing technology, provides a new possibility for building complex food structures because it can precisely control the deposition of materials in three-dimensional space. In recent years, some research has attempted to apply 3D printing to the development of artificial meat. However, there are still some defects and deficiencies in current research: (1) Conflict between raw materials and process: In order to obtain a fibrous feel, researchers have tried to use natural fibrous raw materials (such as mycelium and drawn protein). However, these long-fiber raw materials are prone to clogging when passing through the fine nozzle of the 3D printer, resulting in printing failure or low precision. If a homogeneous plant protein paste without fibers is used as the printing material, the final product is essentially "printed meat paste", completely losing the fibrous structure and chewiness of meat.

[0004] (2) Low structure bionics: Even if some solutions solve the printing problem, the existing printing path design mostly uses simple line filling or grid filling, and the structure formed is isotropic (i.e., the mechanical properties in all directions are consistent), which cannot simulate the anisotropy (i.e., easy to tear along the texture, and chewy perpendicular to the texture) of real muscle due to the directional arrangement of fibers.

[0005] (3) Poor printing forming stability: The food-grade "ink" used for printing is usually a semi-solid gel system. In the printing process, the bottom structure needs to support the weight of the upper structure, and many formulations will collapse or deform due to insufficient support, making it impossible to form the desired three-dimensional structure, which seriously affects the shape and texture of the final product.

[0006] Therefore, how to develop a printing process that can not only retain the fiber feel of the raw material but also ensure smoothness, and through a sophisticated structure design to highly simulate the multi-level fiber network and anisotropy of real muscle, is a technical problem that needs to be solved in this field. SUMMARY

[0007] The first object of the present application is to provide a kind of biomimetic meat product based on fragmented mycelium and multi-level printing path and its preparation method.

[0008] The second object of the present application is to provide a kind of special ink for preparing the above-mentioned biomimetic meat product.

[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present application provides the following technical solutions: A kind of special ink for biomimetic meat product, by weight percentage, its components include 10%-20% fragmented mycelium, 24%-30% plant protein, 0.5%-1.5% hydrophilic colloid, and the balance is water;The fragmented mycelium is obtained by controllable mechanical shearing treatment of naturally grown mycelium, and the average fiber length is 1-20 μm.

[0010] Among them, the plant protein includes pea protein isolate or soybean protein isolate, etc., as a continuous gel matrix, forming a network structure after heat treatment, wrapping and fixing the fiber unit.

[0011] Among them, the hydrophilic colloid includes konjac gum, xanthan gum or guar gum, etc., as a key rheological modifier and shape preserving agent.

[0012] In the special ink for biomimetic meat product of the present application, the components synergize: the fragmented mycelium provides a micro-fiber base;The plant protein provides a macro-gel skeleton;And the addition of hydrophilic colloid gives the ink the characteristics of shear thinning (i.e. the viscosity decreases under shear force in the nozzle, easy to extrude) and high yield stress (i.e. it can resist its own gravity and maintain shape without collapse in the static state after extrusion), thereby effectively solving the contradiction between "printability" and "shape retention" in the printing process.

[0013] A kind of biomimetic meat product preparation method based on fragmented mycelium and multi-level printing path, comprising the following steps: (1) Pretreatment of mycelium raw material Put the cultured mycelium (such as Pleurotus eryngii or other edible fungi) into a beating homogenizer, and beat it at a predetermined frequency, time and temperature (for example: frequency 8-12 times / s, time 18-27 min, temperature 10-30 ℃) to fragment the mycelium into microfibers with a length of 1-20 μm. Prepare a fragmented mycelium suspension, filter it through a 140-180 mesh screen, and reserve it for use. This step is the key to solving the problem of nozzle blockage.

[0014] (2) Weigh the fragmented mycelium, plant protein, hydrophilic colloid and water prepared in step (1), mix them evenly, and prepare a special ink for biomimetic meat product.

[0015] (3) Multi-level biomimetic structure printing The special ink for bionic meat products is loaded into a 3D printer, and printing is performed through a preset multi-level printing path program. The first level is to control the ink extrusion flow rate in the range of 0.5-2 mL / min, and under the printing temperature condition of 20-30°C, the mycelium in the ink extruded from the nozzle is directionally arranged along the printing direction under the induction of shear force, so as to form micro-fiber bundles with orientation characteristics in the printed structure.

[0016] The second level is to use a nozzle with a specification of 1.0-1.5 mm, and perform high-density reciprocating linear filling printing in the XY plane along the direction parallel to the X axis or the Y axis at a filling rate of 80% and above; in this process, the nozzle is controlled to extrude ink at a moving speed of 10-20 mm / s, so as to prepare macro-fiber bundle units with a length of 2.5-3.5 cm.

[0017] The third level is a three-dimensional structure constructed through a layer-by-layer printing process along the Z axis. In this process, by adjusting the arrangement angle of the fiber bundles of the second level layer by layer (for example, 0° and 90° are alternated or 0°, 60° and 120° are cyclic), the fiber bundles of adjacent layers form an interlaced layout in space, and when viewed perpendicularly to the front view direction of the printed layer, the projection of the fiber bundles presents a regular hexagonal close-packed arrangement characteristic. The fiber bundles of each layer form a three-dimensional interlaced network structure, significantly increasing the cross nodes between the fiber bundles, not only simulating the natural arrangement form of the muscle fiber bundles in skeletal muscle, but also endowing the final product with anisotropic mechanical properties.

[0018] (4) Shaping The printed sample is placed at 20-30°C for 25-35 min.

[0019] (5) Heat curing molding The shaped sample is subjected to heat treatment (for example: using oil or water as a medium, temperature 90-160°C, time 3-8 min), so that the plant protein is denatured and cross-linked to form a stable gel network, permanently fixing the multi-level fiber structure, and obtaining the final bionic meat product.

[0020] The bionic meat product prepared by the method of the present application has a multi-level fiber structure inside and anisotropy, and is highly close to real animal muscle (such as chicken breast or pork tenderloin) in terms of tearing feeling, chewing feeling, elasticity and juiciness.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects: (1) Breakthrough raw material processing, realizing the unity of fiber feeling and printability: The "controllable fragmentation" process of the invention creatively solves the core technical pain point of long fiber clogging the nozzle, making it possible to use natural fibers in fine 3D printing, and bringing real, microscopic fiber foundation to the product.

[0022] (2) Innovative multi-level printing path, realizing the high bionics of structure: The invention first proposes the design of a multi-level bionic printing path, simulates the growth logic from myofibrils to muscle bundles, and constructs a complex internal structure with directional arrangement and anisotropy, making the texture and mechanical properties of the product improve from "meat paste" to "bionic meat".

[0023] (3) Scientific ink formula, ensuring high fidelity and stability of printing: The composite ink formula of the invention, through scientific proportioning of mycelium, protein and hydrophilic colloid, realizes excellent rheological properties, ensures smooth printing process and stable structure after printing, and guarantees the accurate realization of complex bionic design.

[0024] (4) Whole-chain integration scheme, strong controllability and expandability of product: The invention provides a complete technical scheme from raw material processing, ink formula to printing path, post-processing, each link is closely linked, synergistic, and different meat textures (such as fish, poultry, livestock) can be "customized" by adjusting the parameters of each link (such as mycelium concentration, printing path angle, etc.), with strong technical barriers and broad application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 Process flow diagram for the preparation method of the bionic meat product based on fragmented mycelium and multi-level printing path.

[0026] Figure 2 Scanning electron microscope (SEM) comparison chart of mycelium raw material under different fragmentation processing times. (a) is the untreated mycelium, which presents a clear long strip structure, with clear branches and overall orderly arrangement. (b) is the mycelium after beating homogenization treatment (25 min).

[0027] Figure 3 Three-dimensional structure diagram of multi-level printing path.

[0028] Figure 4 Scanning electron microscope (SEM) diagram of the internal structure of the bionic meat product of the invention. (A) is the longitudinal section electron microscope diagram of the 3D printed sample. In (B), a is magnified 50 times, b is magnified 200 times, and c is magnified 1000 times.

[0029] Figure 5The form stability comparison chart of the bionic meat product of the present application under different standing times.

[0030] Figure 6 The macro effect comparison chart of the bionic meat product of the present application after being treated by roasting, boiling, steaming and frying.

[0031] Figure 7 The texture analysis (TPA) comparison chart of the bionic meat product of the present application after being treated by roasting, boiling, steaming and frying and real meat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 , a bionic meat product preparation method based on fragmented Pleurotus eryngii mycelium and multi-level printing path: the long-fiber mycelium is homogenized by beating to form fragmented mycelium, which is compounded with other raw materials to form a uniform ink by mechanical coupling, and the bionic meat block is printed by a 3D printer, and finally the bionic meat product highly close to real animal muscle in terms of tearing feeling, chewing feeling, elasticity and juiciness is formed by heating.

[0034] Specifically, the following steps are included: (1) Modeling: a model is established by imitating the structure of muscle tissue, aiming to maximize the simulation of the fiber structure of natural muscle. A stl format model with specifications of 3.0 cm x 2.0 cm x 1.2 cm is established by CINEMA 4D software. The model appears as a cuboid in appearance, and is composed of cylinders arranged in parallel along the long side inside. The model is sliced into a gcode format file recognizable by the printer using Repetier-Host slicing software, exported to a U disk connected to the printer, and waits for printing.

[0035] (2) Mycelium pretreatment: Pleurotus eryngii mycelium is obtained by liquid fermentation, and the medium components on the surface of the mycelium are washed off by gauze filtration and ultrapure water. An appropriate amount of mycelium is placed in a homogenization bag, beaten at a frequency of 10 times per second for 25 minutes at 25°C, filtered through a 150-mesh screen, and used as needed.

[0036] The scanning electron microscope (SEM) comparison of mycelium raw materials under different fragmentation treatment times is shown in Figure 2 . Figure 2 a shows the untreated mycelium, which presents a clear long strip structure, clear branches, and overall orderly arrangement.Figure 2 b is the mycelium after beating homogenization treatment (25 min). Compared with the untreated mycelium, its size is significantly reduced. It can be seen that this treatment can effectively fragment the mycelium, making the overall structure more loose and uniform.

[0037] (3) Ink preparation: 25% pea protein isolate by mass fraction is mixed with ultrapure water and stirred uniformly, stirred for 5 min, 15% of the pretreated Pleurotus eryngii mycelium in step (2), 1.2% konjac gum is added, and the stirring is continued for 20 min.

[0038] (4) Printing: the prepared ink material is filled into the barrel of the 3D printer, and printing is carried out according to the following printing parameters: nozzle diameter 1.2 mm, first layer height 0.96 mm, nozzle temperature 28℃, printing speed 15 mm / s, and printing filling rate 80%.

[0039] The schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the multi-level printing path is as shown in Figure 3 In the printing plane, a parallel reciprocating linear filling path is used for single-layer construction; and in the layer-by-layer printing process perpendicular to the construction plane (Z axis), the arrangement angle of the adjacent layer fiber bundles is adjusted to form an interlaced layout in space, and finally the fiber bundles of each layer together constitute a three-dimensional interlaced network structure.

[0040] The first level (simulating myofibril bundles): the ink extrusion flow rate is controlled at 1 mL / min, and under the condition of a printing temperature of 28℃, the mycelium in the ink extruded from the nozzle is arranged in the printing direction under the induction of shear force, thereby forming micro-fiber bundles with orientation characteristics in the printed structure.

[0041] The second level (simulating muscle fiber bundles): a nozzle with a specification of 1.2 mm is used to perform high-density reciprocating linear filling printing in the XY plane along the direction parallel to the X axis at a filling rate of 80%; in this process, the nozzle is controlled to extrude ink at a moving speed of 15 mm / s, thereby preparing macro-fiber bundle units with a length of 3 cm.

[0042] The third level (simulating muscle tissue): in the layer-by-layer printing process along the Z axis direction, the arrangement angle of the second level fiber bundles is adjusted layer by layer, so that the direction of the adjacent layer fiber bundles maintains a spatial interlaced angle of 60°.

[0043] (5) Setting: the printed sample is set at 25℃ for 30 min.

[0044] The longitudinal cross-sectional electron microscope image of the biomimetic meat product is shown in 4A, and the mycelium ink presents a relatively uniform distribution state. The electron microscope observation results of the cross section are as follows: Figure 4In B, a is a 50-fold magnification, the fiber bundles in the 3D printed sample exhibit directional arrangement characteristics; b is a 200-fold magnification, it is further shown that these fiber bundles are composed of countless aggregated irregular bundle structures, and are wrapped by a gel matrix; c is a 1000-fold magnification, and it is clearly shown that the mycelium in the fiber bundle also exhibits directional arrangement.

[0045] Figure 5 a is the state of 0 min after printing, the sample exhibits a regular block-shaped multilayer structure, and the fiber bundles are orderly stacked and arranged in an upright and complete form. Figure 5 b is the state of 60 min after printing, the overall morphology of the sample is still basically maintained, and the shape stability of the composite printing ink printed product can be intuitively embodied.

[0046] (6) Heating fixation: The sample is heated using four methods of baking, boiling, steaming and frying. The specific operations of the four cooking methods are as follows: the sample is placed in a baking tray and heated in an air fryer at 150°C for 5 min; the sample is placed in cold water, and the water is boiled to maintain a slightly boiling state for 5 min; an appropriate amount of water is added to the steamer, and the sample is evenly placed on the steaming tray, and the water is boiled for 5 min; an appropriate amount of water is added to the steamer, and the sample is evenly placed on the steaming tray, and the water is boiled for 5 min; a flat-bottomed pan is heated, and the sample is placed in the hot oil and fried for 5 min. As shown in Figure 6 , the bionic meat product of the present application exhibits good quality characteristics after being treated by different cooking methods. Specifically, after frying and baking, the surface of the product undergoes a Maillard reaction, forming a golden yellow color and a crispy texture; after steaming and boiling, the product can maintain a moist and shiny appearance, and the shape is complete, indicating that it has excellent wide cooking adaptability.

[0047] The texture analysis (TPA) of the product of the present embodiment and real meat (beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin, chicken breast) is compared, and the results are shown in Figure 7 . As can be seen from the figure, the radar chart area of the fried sample and the boiled pork tenderloin has the highest overlap, and the overall performance of the texture characteristics is closest. The steamed sample is close to boiled chicken breast in terms of hardness, elasticity and cohesiveness.

[0048] Although embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A special ink for biomimetic meat products, characterized in that: By weight percentage, its components include 10%-20% fragmented mycelium, 24%-30% plant protein, 0.5%-1.5% hydrophilic colloid, and the balance being water; The fragmented mycelium is obtained by mechanically shearing naturally grown mycelium, and its average fiber length is 1-20 μm.

2. The biomimetic meat product ink according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plant protein includes pea protein isolate or soy protein isolate.

3. The biomimetic meat product ink according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hydrophilic colloid includes konjac gum, xanthan gum, or guar gum.

4. A method for preparing biomimetic meat products based on fragmented mycelia and multi-level printing paths, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: (1) Pretreatment of mycelial raw materials Take an appropriate amount of cultured mycelium and place it in a beater homogenizer for beating and homogenizing until the mycelium is fragmented into microfibers in the range of 1-20μm in length, thus obtaining a fragmented mycelium suspension. Filter it for later use. (2) Weigh the fragmented mycelium, plant protein, hydrophilic colloid and water prepared in step (1), mix them evenly, and prepare the special ink for biomimetic meat products; (3) Printing of multi-level biomimetic structures The special ink for biomimetic meat products is loaded into a 3D printer and printed through a preset multi-level printing path program, where the first level simulates myofibril bundles, the second level simulates muscle fiber bundles, and the third level simulates muscle tissue. (4) Finalization The sample prepared in step (3) was left to stand at 20-30℃ for 25-35 minutes; (5) Thermosetting molding The sample prepared in step (4) is subjected to heat treatment to denature and cross-link the plant protein, forming a stable gel network, which permanently fixes the multi-level fiber structure and obtains the final biomimetic meat product.

5. The method for preparing biomimetic meat products according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step (1), the frequency of beating and homogenizing is 8-12 times / second, the time is 18-27 minutes, and the temperature is 10-30℃; the fragmented mycelial suspension is filtered through a 140-180 mesh sieve and then used for later use.

6. The method for preparing biomimetic meat products according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step (2), the special ink for biomimetic meat products, by weight percentage, comprises 10%-20% fragmented mycelium, 24%-30% plant protein, 0.5%-1.5% hydrophilic colloid, and the remainder is water.

7. The method for preparing biomimetic meat products according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step (3), the ink extrusion flow rate is controlled within the range of 0.5-2 mL / min, and under the printing temperature condition of 20-30°C, the mycelia in the ink extruded from the nozzle are oriented along the printing direction under the induction of shear force, thereby forming microfiber bundles with orientation characteristics in the printed structure.

8. The method for preparing biomimetic meat products according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step (3), a printhead with a specification of 1.0-1.5mm is used to perform high-density reciprocating linear filling printing in the XY plane along a direction parallel to the X-axis or Y-axis with a fill rate of 80% or more. During this process, the printhead is controlled to extrude ink at a moving speed of 10-20mm / s, thereby preparing macroscopic fiber bundle units with a length of 2.5-3.5cm.

9. The method for preparing biomimetic meat products according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step (3), the layer-by-layer printing process along the Z-axis adjusts the arrangement angle of the second-level fiber bundles layer by layer, so that the fiber bundles of adjacent layers form an interlaced layout in space. When viewed perpendicular to the front view direction of the printed layer, the projection of the fiber bundles presents a regular hexagonal densely packed arrangement.

10. The biomimetic meat product prepared by the method according to any one of claims 4-9.

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