Lab-grown Pork Gets Support from Sorghum Grain
A research team led by Professor Huang Dejian, the Chief Principal Investigator from the Biomedical and Health Technology Research Platform of NUSRI Suzhou, and his team members Associate Investigator Jing Linzhi and PhD student Su Lingshan, have published their results in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The team has successfully created a cultured pork prototype using a new material: kafirin proteins isolated from red sorghum grain. This breakthrough offers a new perspective for the future development of sustainable and healthy meat alternatives.
Cultured meat and plant-based meat are sustainable future meat production technologies. Compared to traditional meat production, cultured meat requires less land, water, and emits fewer greenhouse gases. Unlike plant-based meat, cultured meat uses real animal cells, growing them on porous protein scaffolds in a lab. Previous scaffolds were typically made from water-soluble materials like wheat gluten, pea protein, and soy protein, which often require additional processing to enhance stability and may not be suitable for those with gluten intolerance or allergies. To address this issue, Professor Huang's team proposed using sorghum protein as a gluten-free, water-insoluble scaffold material, successfully cultivating pork prototypes.
The team extracted sorghum protein from red sorghum flour and used a templating method, soaking commercially available sugar cubes in a sorghum protein solution. After dissolving the sugar, they created a 3D porous protein scaffold. The researchers then introduced pig stem cells onto the scaffold. After 12 days, they observed successful cell attachment to the sorghum protein scaffold, with differentiation into muscle and fat cells. Compared to traditional pork, the cultured meat had higher protein and saturated fat content, with lower levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Besides, the natural red pigments in red sorghum gave the cultured meat a colour closer to that of pork and provided some antioxidant properties. The researchers noted that more work is needed to optimise the nutritional and textural characteristics of this cultured pork, but the study demonstrated the potential of sorghum protein as a scaffold material for cultured meat.
This research demonstrates the significant potential of sorghum alcohol-soluble protein as a scaffold material for cultured meat, which could accelerate the adoption of cultured meat alternatives. It offers a feasible solution to address global food supply challenges, reduce the environmental burden of livestock farming, and meet the diverse demands of consumers.
