Browsing by Author "Ulvinen, Petra"

Plant-based proteins are gaining increasing interest among the scientists and consumers due to accelerating health and environmental awareness. Fermentation is a traditional method for improving the shelf-life, nutritional profile and sensory attributes of food. The aim of the Master’s thesis was to investigate the impact of semi-solid fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium on faba bean (Vicia faba) and oat (Avena sativa) protein. 16 amino acids were analyzed by UHPLC-PDA -method, and the nutritional value of protein was estimated by calculating Amino Acid Score (AAS) for essential amino acids. The results indicate that the presence of fungus decreased the total protein content of faba bean from 33 % to 27 % while the protein content of other samples remained stable. Significant changes were observed in the amino acid compositions, but the changes were not consistent. Only the content of alanine and valine increased in all three fermented samples. AAS -method showed an increase in the content of some limiting amino acids. Overall, the fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus seemed to have a slightly positive or neutral impact on the essential amino acid composition of faba bean and oat protein.