Decellularized extracellular matrix scaffolds from Pleurotus ferulae mushrooms for sustainable production of steak-like cultured meat with authentic texture

Abstract

Replicating the fibrous texture of steak-like meat remains a significant hurdle to the commercialization of cultured meat as a sustainable alternative to conventional livestock farming. Many existing scaffolds often lack the biocompatibility, scalability, or structural cues necessary to fabricate steak-like cultured meat. Here, we developed a cost-effective and sustainable scaffold derived from the decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) of the edible mushroom, Pleurotus ferulae. This biomaterial was selected because of its rapid growth, low environmental impact, and inherent fibrous microarchitecture, which exhibits structural similarities to skeletal muscle. An optimized decellularization protocol was established to fabricate porous scaffolds from P. ferulae, and comparative analysis revealed its superior anisotropic microstructure compared to other fungal species. The P. ferulae-derived scaffold supported robust cell adhesion, proliferation, and crucially, guided the aligned differentiation of bovine muscle satellite cells into organized, parallel myotubes that structurally recapitulate native muscle tissue. Texture profile analysis demonstrated that the engineered cultured meat construct exhibited hardness, chewiness, and gumminess comparable to those of real beef, outperforming acellular controls. Furthermore, a thermal processing assay confirmed Maillard reaction-induced browning and the formation of a meat-like macroscopic appearance. Collectively, these results validate P. ferulae dECM scaffolds as a scalable, sustainable, and consumer-acceptable platform for producing steak-like cultured meat with biomimetic textural and sensory properties.