Ingrid Contardo, an academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics, leads the project that seeks to optimize the protein value of quinoa and chickpeas through an innovative fermentation process capable of improving digestion and releasing a greater amount of essential amino acids.
This breakthrough is a benefit for consumers, a vegetable drink that not only improves the bioavailability of amino acids, key in tissue repair, hormone synthesis and muscle maintenance, but also reduces digestive barriers associated with anti-nutrient compounds such as tannins or phytates.explains the academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Universidad de los Andes.
The researcher Ingrid Contardo, an academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics, leads this project that seeks to optimize the protein value of quinoa and chickpeas through an innovative fermentation process, capable of improving digestion and releasing a greater amount of essential amino acids.
The applied technology consists in the destructuring of the compacted vegetable proteins, which facilitates the access of digestive enzymes and allows a better absorption of nutrients.
"Although quinoa and chickpeas are already recognized for their protein content, this fermentation process enhances their nutritional profile and brings it closer to that of animal sources, which is especially valuable for people who follow vegetarian or vegan diets," she adds.
Currently, the project is in the final stage of validating the functionality of the prototype at laboratory level and standardizing the production conditions to ensure its industrial viability. The next steps consider advancing in the intellectual protection of the method of obtaining and formulating the product, with a view to its technology transfer and future commercialization.
Learn more here 📹In this video, he tells us more about his research.
Vegetable protein drinks are available on the market 🌱 but many of them have a low protein content. The professor is working on the development of a prototype plant protein and probiotic drink, using the fermentation process, with the aim of achieving a more balanced protein content.
Check HERE for the press release on this innovative development..