University of Manitoba

Purpose

Plant-based proteins vary in both composition and digestibility/availability, with these attributes being impacted by plant genetics, growing environment, and processing conditions. Accounting for these sources of variability requires robust and validated analytical approaches. The Project will focus on how processing of pea protein (flours, concentrates, isolates) influences the nutritional quality of the protein, as determined by novel in vitro methods. The key nutritional parameters that will be investigated include composition, digestibility and metabolic availability of amino acids derived from yellow pea, including integration with novel analytical and spectral data hypothesized to impact protein quality. Data derived from the Project will advance the utilization of rapid and sensitive methods for the measurement of protein and amino acid digestibility and availability. These assays are required to permit the establishment of nutritional quality parameters for food proteins and to aid in new protein food product development activities.