Protein Enrichment of Wheat Bread with Microalgae: Microchloropsis gaditana, Tetraselmis chui and Chlorella vulgaris

Abstract

Cell wall disrupted and dried Microchloropsis gaditana (Mg), Tetraselmis chui (Tc) and Chlorella vulgaris (Cv) microalgae biomasses, with or without ethanol pre-treatment, were added to wheat bread at a wheat flour substitution level of 12%, to enrich bread protein by 30%. Baking performance, protein quality and basic sensory properties were assessed. Compared to wheat, Mg, Tc and Cv contain higher amounts of essential amino acids and their incorporation markedly improved protein quality in the bread (DIAAS 57–66 vs 46%). The incorporation of microalgae reduced dough strength and bread volume and increased crumb firmness. This was most pronounced for Cv and Tc but could be improved by ethanol treatment. Mg gave adequate dough strength, bread volume and crumb structure without ethanol treatment. To obtain bread of acceptable smell, appearance, and colour, ethanol treatment was necessary also for Mg as it markedly reduced the unpleasant smell and intense colour of all algae breads. Ethanol treatment reduced the relative content of lysine, but no other essential amino acids. However, it also had a negative impact on in vitro protein digestibility. Our results show that Mg had the largest potential for protein fortification of bread, but further work is needed to optimize pre-processing and assess consumer acceptance.

Improving the Nutritional, Structural, and Sensory Properties of Gluten-Free Bread with Different Species of Microalgae

“…The three species of microalgae (TcR, CvR, NgR) were produced in the A2F (Algae to Future) project. The ethanol extraction of the given three species was performed at Nofima, Norwegian Institute for Food, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Research, Ås, Norway, as published in detail elsewhere [24]. The macronutrient composition reported for the biomass was kindly provided by the A2F biomass suppliers and is published in [24].…”

Health-Promoting Nutrients and Potential Bioaccessibility of Breads Enriched with Fresh Kale and Spinach

“…Therefore, any solution contributing to the increase in the daily consumption of vegetables rich in health promoting nutrients [ 3 ] is needed. Bread is a staple food and attempts to enrich it with various bioactive ingredients of natural origin have gained popularity in recent years and may lead to an increase to the daily supply of deficient nutrients in the human diet [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Bioactivity and Digestibility of Microalgae Tetraselmis sp. and Nannochloropsis sp. as Basis of Their Potential as Novel Functional Foods

“…T. chuii has been used to replace wheat flour in the manufacture of protein-enriched bread [ 20 ] and it has also been incorporated in buckwheat, rice flour and potato starch formulations to increase the bioactivity of gluten-free bread [ 136 ]. Qazi et al [ 137 ] evaluated the IVPD of raw and ethanol-treated T. chuii biomass, either alone or incorporated into wheat bread, following the standardized INFOGEST static in vitro digestion model. Breads including 12% of disrupted T. chuii showed significantly higher enzymatic degradation of proteins into small peptides than bread without microalgae.…”

“…Dissolved protein represented 83% in the commodity wheat flour bread, and it was reduced to 59–67% by incorporating microalgae biomass. As a result, IVPD decreased in breads formulated with T. chuii , especially when microalgae biomass was treated with ethanol [ 137 ].…”