Scientists Have Discovered A New Plant Source Of Protein

Author: Alexander Bruni Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

In this article, learn more about Scientists Have Discovered A New Plant Source Of Protein. Rapeseed can replace soy burgers as the best plant source of protein.

Rapeseed has the potential to replace soybeans as the best plant source of protein for humans.

This shows an ongoing study by naturist scientists from the German Martin Luther University .

They found that the consumption of protein from rapeseed had a beneficial effect on metabolism comparable to that of soy protein .

Rapeseed protein has a diverse composition of amino acids and manages to satisfy hunger even better than soy .

Protein is a key building block of the human body and is an important part of a balanced and healthy diet.

"Proteins contain essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized in the body," said Prof. Gabriele Stangl of the Martin Luther University's Institute of Agricultural and Food Sciences.

Meat and fish are important sources of high quality protein, but some plants can also provide these valuable proteins.

"Soy is generally considered the best source of vegetable protein because it contains a particularly useful set of amino acids," says Stangl.

Her team is investigating whether canola, which has a relatively similar amino acid composition, could be an alternative to soy.

Rapeseed also contains phytochemicals - chemical compounds produced by plants - that could also have a beneficial effect on health.

"So far, there has been very little data on the effects of rapeseed protein intake in humans," added Prof. Gabriele Stangl.

Rapeseed has several other advantages over soybeans: it is already grown in Europe, and the protein-rich by-products of rapeseed oil production can be used as an ingredient in new foods.

At present, these by-products are mainly used for animal feed.

The study involved 20 people, and the researchers studied the effect of eating three different sources of protein on their metabolism.

Participants eat a specially prepared dish on three separate days: noodles with tomato sauce, which either does not contain additional protein or is enriched with soy or rapeseed protein.

After a meal, participants took blood several times for six hours.

In this way, the researchers were able to accurately measure the metabolic response of each participant depending on the diet.

The study shows that rapeseed protein affects metabolism and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as soy protein .

It turns out that rapeseed protein even elicits a milder insulin response in the body.

Another advantage is that participants experience a longer feeling of satiety after eating rapeseed protein, which leads scientists to conclude that rapeseed is a valuable alternative to soy in the human diet.

The only drawback they found was that rapeseed protein, unlike soy, had a mustard flavor. This makes rapeseed more suitable for the production of salty foods rather than sweets.

Scientists Have Discovered A New Plant Source Of Protein

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