Brasathe Jeganathan is looking for more sustainable ways to extract protein from faba beans (supplied photo/University of Alberta)

By Alice McFarlane

Faba bean research

Faba beans have potential as meat and dairy alternative

Jan 18, 2024 | 5:02 PM

Faba beans are high in protein but some of their less desirable qualities are compounds that cause flatulence and interfere with the body’s nutrient absorption.

Brasathe Jeganathan’s PhD research at the University of Alberta has found more sustainable ways to extract protein from faba beans, which could help meet the growing demand for plant-based sources.

This work has potentially improved on the standard processes used to capture the protein from the bean, along with starch and dietary fibre, while leaving the rest behind.

By experimenting with hybrid processes involving both dry and wet fractionation and using less water and no chemicals, Jeganathan was still able to successfully isolate and extract the bean protein.

The new process also ensures that the protein remains unchanged by chemicals. Along with that, the proteins extracted using chemical-free methods were found to have comparable or even better functionality than the proteins extracted by traditional chemical- and energy-intensive methods. Jeganathan said this is good news for the food processing industry.

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“The important properties like foaming, emulsification, solubility and the ability to gel are still there for potential applications in beverages, meat and egg substitutes, and protein powders,” she said.

The chemical-free extraction methods also resulted in higher-quality protein — up to 94 per cent pure — compared with other methods. Jeganathan was also able to separate out the starch and concentrate the dietary fibre from the faba bean.

These co-products would have been altered by chemical use through conventional methods and wasted as a result.

“Now they have potential to become value-added products that could be used in food applications,” she said.

Faba beans, also known as fava beans or broad beans, contain 22 to 36 per cent protein, a benefit that could make them a viable, secure food source for a growing global population, according to Jeganathan.

“By 2050 we are expected to feed 9.7 billion people, with demand expected to double for animal-based protein, but we can’t completely rely on that as a sustainable source in the long run,” she said. “Alternative plant sources such as faba beans have lower environmental footprints and can, at the same time, provide adequate protein.”

Jeganathan said legume could also help meet the growing demand for vegetarian and vegan diets, with more than 40 per cent of Canadians actively trying to eat more plant-based food.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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