Project
Microbial ingredients for future food
Sustainable diets are a crucial element in addressing ongoing climate change and achieving global health and sustainability. Microbial cells grown in bioreactors can serve as an alternative ingredient source. Their cultivation requires less land than conventional crops and is possible in any geographical location. However, to make use of microbial biomass as food ingredients economically feasible, we need to adopt a biorefinery approach that valorizes all fractions of the microorganisms. This project aims to develop a generic approach to convert microbial biomass into techno-functional food ingredients.
To achieve this goal, ingredients from microalgae, bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi will be obtained using a mild wet fractionation process after cell disruption using bead milling. Furthermore, the techno-functionality of (fractionated) biomass from different organisms will be studied individually and in systems representing food products. This will enable us to define a set of principles for the application of disrupted cells as structuring ingredients in food systems
Introduction
To make the use of cells as ingredient sources economically feasible, a biorefinery approach where all the fractions of the microorganisms are valorized is required. Such a process demands an understanding of the composition and cellular localization of the main target molecules for their efficient recovery. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial cells present similar structures, essentially they are composed of a matrix containing different organelles and genetic material (either packed in a nucleus or not) which are surrounded by a cell membrane and/or wall. The size of the cells, presence of different organelles, the structure and composition of the cell membrane and wall, and the presence of extracellular components are the main differential structural factors between microbes.
Next to this, it is also essential to understand how techno-functional ingredients can be obtained from microbial cells and subsequently used in food products. There is a need for concepts that are applicable independently of the cell source. Research on this area is limited, but has been growing largely in recent years.
Project description
To successfully and efficiently implement microbial cell-based ingredients as a novel sustainable nutrient alternative it is essential to understand how techno-functional ingredients can be obtained from microbial cells and subsequently used in food products. Therefore, this project aims to develop a process to recover functional fractions from mechanically disrupted microbial cells obtained from microalgae, bacteria, yeast, and filamentous fungi. By precisely controlling the disruption of various microbial cells it will be possible to establish relationships between cell ultrastructure, its disruption and the consequent composition and techno-functional properties of the recovered material. Next, the techno-functionality of (fractionated) biomass fractions from different organisms will be studied in more detail individually and in systems representing food products. This will enable us to define a set of principles for the application of disrupted cells as structuring ingredients in food systems.
The main objectives of this research are:
- To develop a generic process to obtain ingredient fractions from microbial biomass. Understand how cell wall disintegration affects cell integrity, ultrastructure, and the consequent recovery of cellular fractions using MWF.
- Investigate the composition and techno-functionality of cell fractions obtained after cell disruption and MWF.
- Understand the influence of drying and extrinsic factors on the techno-functionality of cell fractions obtained after cell disruption and MWF.
- Define a set of principles for the application of disintegrated cells as structuring ingredients in food systems.