Mycoprotein

Abstract

Mycoprotein is derived from the filamentous fungus Fusarium venenatum, first discovered in the 1960s. Mycoprotein is high in protein and fiber and low in energy and saturated fat and contains no trans-fat or cholesterol. A systematic search of the PubMed identified 13 human studies investigating the health properties of mycoprotein, with some evidence of sustained satiety, improved metabolic profiling, and muscular protein synthetic response that warrants ongoing investigation. Mycoprotein is produced commercially, with low environmental impact, and is used as an ingredient in products marketed under the Quorn trademark.

Food for our future: the nutritional science behind the sustainable fungal protein – mycoprotein. A symposium review

“…As we have seen in this symposium, research of the past and present shows that mycoprotein has both health and sustainability credentials. At least sixteen controlled trials have now investigated inter-relationships between mycoprotein and health ( 11 ) . Further work ( 59 ) shows that given growing multimorbidity's, expanding and ageing populations, the integration of fungal mycoprotein within daily diets could benefit health across the lifespan, including the narrowing of the present fibre gap.…”

“…From a nutritional perspective, mycoprotein has a low energy density, is low in total and saturated fat and contains negligible amounts of cholesterol (11) . It provides the nine main essential amino acids (AAs) and has a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score of 0⋅996, indicating that it is a high-quality protein (12) .…”

A Systematic Review of Human Trials on Mycoprotein - Way towards a Sustainable Ecosystem

“…More recently, Coelho demonstrated that meat/fish lunches (control group) or a diet containing 1.2 g of protein per kg of BW per day (intervention group) had a beneficial effect on various lipoprotein fractions. In the mycoprotein group (a 7 to27 % decrease P < 0•05) was observed in comparison to the control group (55) giving rise to the idea that the cholesterol-lowering effect can be attributed to the type and amount of fiber contained in mycoprotein (56). Furthermore, researchers have also started exploring the cholesterol-lowering effects on CVDs risk.…”

Emergent Proteins-Based Structures—Prospects towards Sustainable Nutrition and Functionality

“…Mycoprotein (known also as fungal protein) is being discussed as nutritious protein source resulting from continuous fermentation of sugars and its high protein and fiber contents (by dry weight, 45% and 25%, respectively), which can substitute cereals and fat, thus providing a meat-like structure [21,22]. This protein source was first discovered in 1966 and there is evidence from human studies that this protein can contribute to satiety, improved metabolic pathways, maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels, and contribute to a better muscular protein synthetic response [21,23]. However, some controversy seems to be arising, as recent studies reported that this food product can be responsible for allergic and gastrointestinal reactions [24].…”