Key points from article :
The protein intake at the human cellular level, an American staple, chicken, bests it.
"Our in vitro tests have shown that the profile of essential amino acids of meat analogs after digestion and absorption is slightly inferior than those from chicken" Da Chen, lead author told.
"By changing formulation and processing conditions, meat substitutes with better texture and nutrition could be achieved," he said.
In vitro tests showed their meat-substitute's peptides were less water-soluble than those from chicken and not absorbed as well by human cells.
The next step is to identify other ingredients that may help increase the peptide uptake of plant-based meat substitutes.
Published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, carried out by Ohio State University's Department of Food Science and Technology.
