Plant-Based: alternative proteins as meat substitutes

Abstract

Proteins are extremely important, as they perform various functions in the body, and those of animal origin contain all the essential amino acids. Meat consumption is high. The search for alternative proteins is high, due to several factors and to this end, industries are looking to develop meat analogues. Plant-based are analogous and very similar to meat protein in terms of flavor, color and texture. There are vegetables and cereals with high protein content that can be used to make plant-based products such as soy, wheat, lentils and chickpeas. Therefore, the objective of this work was to review, in an integrative way, bibliographies regarding the contextualization of plant-based foods as alternatives to replace meat, the ways of obtaining and processing proteins and the challenges of implementing these proteins as meat substitutes. From the present study, it was possible to conclude that meat analogues are gaining more and more space and are very similar to meat. It is suggested that other studies be carried out on ways to obtain meat analogues, mainly in the sensorial aspect obtained from vegetable-based products.