Panapparambil Sooraj Ihsaan, Leech John, O'Callaghan Tom F, McAuliffe Olivia
Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Ireland.
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Aug 1;16:1638378. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1638378. eCollection 2025.
There is an evolving interest in the adoption and incorporation of plant proteins in Western diets as sustainable alternatives to meat consumption. This is typically motivated by the environmental and public health concerns posed by animal-based diets. However, plant proteins have been demonstrated to exhibit reduced bioavailability as a consequence of high concentrations of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) and complex protein structures, leading to incompletely digested protein reaching the colon. This undigested protein undergoes microbial putrefaction, generating metabolites like ammonia, phenols, and hydrogen sulfide that are potentially associated with inflammation, gut barrier dysfunction, and chronic diseases. Literature searches utilizing tools such as Google Scholar and PubMed were performed with identifying relevant work in both putrefaction and fermentation, to highlight gaps for future research. There is evidence that including a microbial fermentation step in the processing of plant proteins can degrade ANFs, hydrolyze protein structure, and increase free amino acids, thereby improving upper gastrointestinal digestibility. The application of fermentation strategies can address both nutritional and safety challenges by pre-digesting proteins and enriching functional metabolites such as SCFAs and polyphenols. However, gaps persist in understanding many elements of fermentation of plant proteins including microbial consortia optimization, impacts, and long-term health outcomes. This review examines protein putrefaction in the gut and its association with adverse health impacts, and furthermore, fermentation is evaluated as a potential processing aid for plant proteins to enhance digestibility and mitigate putrefaction risks.
在西方饮食中采用和纳入植物蛋白作为肉类消费的可持续替代品的兴趣正在不断演变。这通常是由动物性饮食带来的环境和公共卫生问题所驱动的。然而，由于高浓度的抗营养因子（ANFs）和复杂的蛋白质结构，植物蛋白已被证明生物利用度降低，导致未完全消化的蛋白质到达结肠。这种未消化的蛋白质会发生微生物腐败，产生氨、酚和硫化氢等代谢产物，这些代谢产物可能与炎症、肠道屏障功能障碍和慢性疾病有关。利用谷歌学术和PubMed等工具进行文献检索，以识别腐败和发酵方面的相关研究，突出未来研究的空白。有证据表明，在植物蛋白加工过程中加入微生物发酵步骤可以降解抗营养因子，水解蛋白质结构，并增加游离氨基酸，从而提高上消化道的消化率。发酵策略的应用可以通过预先消化蛋白质和富集短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）和多酚等功能性代谢产物来解决营养和安全挑战。然而，在理解植物蛋白发酵的许多方面，包括微生物群落优化、影响和长期健康结果等方面，仍然存在差距。本综述探讨了肠道中的蛋白质腐败及其与不良健康影响的关联，此外，还评估了发酵作为植物蛋白潜在加工助剂以提高消化率和降低腐败风险的作用。
