Potato proteins show promise for low-calorie foods and biobased engineering, study finds

06 Sep 2024 --- An international interdisciplinary team of researchers has engineered an aqueous solution — an oil-free super lubricant — from alternative proteins such as potato proteins. They claim this paves the way for sustainable engineering, low calorie and low fat food applications as well as biomedical applications. The scientists used the proteins as building blocks that can be naturally sourced as a by-product with a lower carbon footprint.

The eco-friendly solution can achieve superlubricity or near zero friction by mimicking biological actions, such as synovial fluids, which lubricate bone and cartilage in human joints. The majority of aqueous lubricants use materials exclusively derived from synthetic chemistry.

“This is a revolutionary material engineering paradigm for biomedical applications and is a key milestone toward achieving highly sustainable, plant-based aqueous lubricant materials,” says Anwesha Sarkar, professor of colloids and surfaces at the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science and Nutrition and lead author of the study. 

“We created a self-assembly of plant protein-based protofilaments with biopolymeric hydrogels in a patchy architecture. Combining multiscale experimental measurements with molecular dynamics simulations, our results reveal how a self-assembly can be fabricated using plant proteins to deliver super lubricity via hydration lubrication.”

Observing surface forces

The study’s findings, published in Communications Materials, observed surface forces, the surface morphology and nanotribology of the lubricants. 

The researchers reside at the University of Leeds School of Food Science and Nutrition, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, King’s College London, UK and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, France. The European Research Council funded the research.

“What we have created could well be the next generation of engineered biomedical materials for uses such as artificial synovial fluid, tears and saliva. It could also be used for low-calorie foods where you can achieve low-fat items without compromising the fatty feel of higher fat content counterparts,” says Olivia Pabois, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science and Nutrition and first author of the study. 

Replicating natural structures

The researchers combined their expertise in molecular dynamics simulations to link the molecular-scale details of the plant protein-based lubricant to its lubrication properties.

By quantifying the interactions that govern the assembly of the plant proteins and hydrogel and the absorption of this lubricant onto surfaces, the researchers will unlock the ability to design self-assembled structures of natural materials that optimize their lubrication properties.

Meanwhile, Unilever executives addressed how AI and big data biology are transforming the face of consumer goods and helping to develop nutritious food at unprecedented speed and with a low carbon footprint during an event about biotechnology and microbiomics.

In addition, a new technique developed by researchers at the University of Leeds could make plant-based meat alternatives more appealing to consumers by enhancing their texture and mouthfeel. The method involves creating tiny gel-like particles from plant proteins and water, which mimic the sensation of fat and juiciness when eaten.