 Consumers and athletes are seeking ever more diverse, clean and healthful sources of plant based protein. With classically only pea and soy to choose from at cost-competitive scale, food and beverage manufacturers have been limited in their portfolio growth. Till now. A February 2023 Foods Journal article welcomes a new, abundant plant protein source to the arena: protein derived from Brewer’s Spent Grain (BSG).
According to the article, BSG is the most plentiful byproduct in a global business that spans both continents and eras, accounting for approximately 85% of side streams produced. Noting BSG’s high protein content, the study goes on to assess the protein isolate production potential of the raw material source. Amongst its findings are the following:
- Regarding nutrition, [the BSG protein isolate, commercially known as] EverPro meets or exceeds the requirement of each essential amino acid per g protein, with the exception of lysine, while pea and soy are deficient in methionine and cysteine.
- EverPro has a similar protein content to the pea and soy isolates, but far exceeds them in terms of protein solubility, with a protein solubility of ~100% compared to 22% and 52% for pea and soy isolates, respectively.
- EverPro displays the highest foaming capacity and exhibits low sedimentation activity, while also possessing minimal gelation properties and low emulsion stabilizing activity when compared to pea and soy isolates.
The study’s findings indicate the potential for EverPro’s inclusion as a new, sustainable plant-based protein source in nutritious food and beverage applications, notably in the beverage and dairy alternative spaces.
Read the full article here.
Source: Jaeger A, Sahin AW, Nyhan L, Zannini E, Arendt EK. Functional Properties of Brewer’s Spent Grain Protein Isolate: The Missing Piece in the Plant Protein Portfolio. Foods. 2023; 12(4):798. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040798