Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye.
Department of Commodity Science and Food Analysis, Faculty of Food Science, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland.
Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2024 May;23(3):e13372. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.13372.
The burgeoning demand for protein, exacerbated by population growth and recent disruptions in the food supply chain, has prompted a rapid exploration of sustainable protein alternatives. Among these alternatives, algae stand out for their environmental benefits, rapid growth, and rich protein content. However, the widespread adoption of algae-derived proteins faces significant challenges. These include issues related to harvesting, safety, scalability, high cost, standardization, commercialization, and regulatory hurdles. Particularly daunting is the efficient extraction of algal proteins, as their resilient cell walls contain approximately 70% of the protein content, with conventional methods accessing only a fraction of this. Overcoming this challenge necessitates the development of cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally friendly cell disruption techniques capable of breaking down these rigid cell walls, often laden with viscous polysaccharides. Various approaches, including physical, chemical, and enzymatic methods, offer potential solutions, albeit with varying efficacy depending on the specific algal strain and energy transfer efficiency. Moreover, there remains a pressing need for further research to elucidate the functional, technological, and bioaccessible properties of algal proteins and peptides, along with exploring their diverse commercial applications. Despite these obstacles, algae hold considerable promise as a sustainable protein source, offering a pathway to meet the escalating nutritional demands of a growing global population. This review highlights the nutritional, technological, and functional aspects of algal proteins and peptides while underscoring the challenges hindering their widespread adoption. It emphasizes the critical importance of establishing a sustainable trajectory for food production, with algae playing a pivotal role in this endeavor.
不断增长的蛋白质需求，加上人口增长和最近食品供应链的中断，促使人们迅速探索可持续的蛋白质替代品。在这些替代品中，藻类因其环境效益、快速生长和丰富的蛋白质含量而脱颖而出。然而，广泛采用藻类衍生的蛋白质面临着重大挑战。这些挑战包括与收获、安全性、可扩展性、高成本、标准化、商业化和监管障碍相关的问题。特别令人望而却步的是藻类蛋白质的高效提取，因为它们坚韧的细胞壁中含有大约 70%的蛋白质，而传统方法只能提取其中的一小部分。克服这一挑战需要开发具有成本效益、可扩展和环保的细胞破碎技术，这些技术能够破坏这些刚性细胞壁，这些细胞壁通常富含粘性多糖。各种方法，包括物理、化学和酶方法，提供了潜在的解决方案，但具体藻类菌株和能量传递效率不同，效果也不同。此外，仍迫切需要进一步研究，以阐明藻类蛋白质和肽的功能、技术和生物可及性特性，并探索其多样化的商业应用。尽管存在这些障碍，但藻类作为一种可持续的蛋白质来源具有很大的潜力，可以为满足不断增长的全球人口的营养需求提供途径。本综述强调了藻类蛋白质和肽的营养、技术和功能方面，同时强调了阻碍其广泛采用的挑战。它强调了建立可持续粮食生产轨迹的重要性，藻类在这方面发挥着关键作用。
