Table 2. Current technologies in meat alternatives obtained from edible insect and plant

Types Contents References
Edible insect - Protein content enhancement in edible grasshopper and honey bee brood is enhanced through defatting, alkaline treatment, and ultrasound-assisted extraction.- Extracted proteins from grasshopper and honey bee brood show high foaming capacity and emulsification stability.- Proteins from honey bee brood exhibit high thermal coagulation properties. Mishyna et al. (2019a)
- Aggregation and gelation of honey bee larvae proteins depend on temperature and pH, with maximum aggregation at 85°C at pH 5 and 7.- At pH 3, disulfide bonds play a lesser role, whereas at pH 5 and 7, exposed hydrophobic domains contribute to aggregation.- The pH impact on gel’s rheological and textural properties is less pronounced due to system complexity involving proteins and polysaccharides. Mishyna et al. (2019b)
- Adding Alphitobius diaperinus insect protein to burgers decreases pH, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, while increasing total lipids and saturated fatty acids.- Burgers with 10% insect protein have the best flavor, but those with 5% insect protein achieve the highest overall acceptability.- Insect protein minimally affects the physical properties of plant-based meat substitutes and enhances nutritional value. Krawczyk et al. (2024)
- A biscuit with locust meal powder provides sufficient daily protein for children aged 12–24 months, meeting 24%–38% of the recommended dietary allowance.- Adding 5% locust powder raises energy, protein, fat, and moisture contents but reduces carbohydrate and ash contents compared to controls. Dewi et al. (2020)
- Increasing temperature to 140°C and 160°C or reducing water flow rate from 10 to 9 mL/min enhances the tensile strength of the mixture.- A soybean protein isolate-cricket meal mixture with 30% low-fat cricket flour achieves the best anisotropic and fibrous structure under extrusion conditions of 10 mL/min WFR and 160°C. Kiiru et al. (2020)
- Tribo-electrostatic separation produces higher protein and carbohydrate yields than air-based fractionation methods for legume or plant protein fractions.- Wet protein extraction techniques are improving to enhance protein quality, yield, and stability without reducing solubility.- Additional methods like microwave, ultrasound, pulsed electric field, and high hydrostatic pressure enable high protein yield beyond traditional dry and wet extraction. Thakur et al. (2024)
Plant - Heat treatment and high-pressure technologies are not energy and cost-efficient, thus not aligning with sustainable development goals.- Chemical modifications like glycation are evolving to align with food safety regulations and the trend towards ‘Clean-label’ ingredients.- Biological methods, including enzymes and fermentation, are environmentally friendly and low-energy, promoting the advancement of technologies for enhancing plant protein quality. Nasrabadi et al. (2021)
- Significant advancements in plant protein sources, including soy, legumes, grains, and seaweed, enhance meat and fish analogues.- like chemical, physical, and biological modifications improve plant protein properties, while additional ingredients influence texture and quality.- Evolving technologies such as extrusion, shear cell technology, and three-dimensional (3D) printing contribute to plant-based products mimicking meat and fish textures and tastes. Nowacka et al. (2023)
- Typical physical modification minimally impacts plant protein structures but enhances functional properties by altering secondary and tertiary structures.- Chemical modification provides benefits like short reaction time, low cost, minimal equipment needs, and significant modification effects.- Enzyme modifications, including fermentation and germination, enhance processing, nutritional properties, and bioavailability of plant proteins. Xiao et al. (2023)
- Adding 30% banana flower and jackfruit results in no significant differences in chewiness and flavor compared to the control group.- All treatment groups exhibit high overall acceptability and have higher fiber and protein contents than the control group. Keerthana Priya et al. (2022)
- Increasing oat fiber concentrate (OFC) concentration reduces mechanical properties and pore space in fibrous meat analogs, allowing for 30%–50% OFC addition.- Fiber structure alignment changes with increased long cooling die temperature (LCDT), while β-glucan extractability and viscosity remain preserved at low LCDT. Ramos Diaz et al. (2022)
- Developing biopolymer composites with meat-like textures involved coacervation and heat-induced gelation of gellan gum and potato protein blends, with electrical properties influenced by solution pH and polymer ratio, leading to gels with varied microstructures and textures. Hu et al. (2024)