Enhancing structural and functional properties of commercially available pea protein isolate for plant-based meat analogues using combined pH-Shift, high-intensity ultrasound, and heat treatments

Diets based on pea protein have gained international recognition as a good substitute for meat or other main sources of protein. However, problems like gelling and emulsifying qualities make it difficult to use pea protein. To successfully overcome significant obstacles related to the use of pea protein in many industrial sectors, particularly meat, this study offers a combination of methods used to produce commercially accessible Pea Protein Isolate (PPI). High-intensity ultrasound (HIUS) at three magnitudes (2, 4, and 8 W/mL), heat at 60 °C, and pH at 10.0 were all integrated within the set. For artificial meat, PUHP₂, PUHP₄, and PUHP₈ were the most promising of the nine treatments. After undergoing combined treatments (pH-shift, HIUS, and heat), favorable gelling was shown by treatments, emulsifying, and foaming properties while containing the ideal and desired protein size, as understood by the results in the gel electrophoresis. When treated PPIs were used to stabilize the sunflower oil-in-water emulsion, the emulsion capacity increased significantly for PUHP₂, PUHP₄, and PUHP₈ (43.47 %, 46.57 %, and 40.90 % increase, respectively). Furthermore, solubility (for PUHP₂, PUHP₄, and PUHP₈) had shown considerable (p < 0.05) improvement from 31.03 % ± 2.11 % (DPPI) to 53.33 % ± 2.3 %, 55.13 % ± 1.0 %, and 58.43 % ± 3.2 %, in SEM which accompanied by differences in the morphology of protein. This study’s gelling properties (2.512 ± 0.1 N, 2.604 ± 0.1 N, and 2.168 ± 0.3 N, for PUHP₂, PUHP₄, and PUHP₈) were crucial, primarily from the standpoint of plant-based meat analogs. The processes proposed by this study pea protein will be enabled that has undergone this series of chemical and physical processes to proceed in the direction of far better meat substitutes. Overall, this research contributes to the advancement of pea protein’s use as an industrial protein and allows better usage of its hypoallergenic, non-GMO and high protein content.