Pea protein is a food product and protein supplement derived and extracted from yellow and green split peas, Pisum sativum. It can be used as a dietary supplement to increase an individual's protein or other nutrient intake, or as a substitute for other food products (e.g. the substitution of dairy milk by pea milk). As a powder, it is used as an ingredient in food manufacturing, such as a thickener, foaming agent, or an emulsifier. It is extracted in a powder form and can be processed and produced in different ways:
As an isolate - through the process of wet fractionation which produces a high protein concentration As a concentrate - through the process of dry fractionation which produces a low protein concentration In textured form, which is when it is used in food products as a substitute for other products, such as meat alternatives Pea protein has low allergenicity and high nutritional value. It is common as a source of protein in vegan and vegetarian food, and in protein supplement products.
Composition
Pea protein is rich in nutrients such as protein and carbohydrates. Pea protein also contains vitamins and minerals and is low in fat. While generally rich in protein, the actual protein content of peas is variable and influenced by both genetic factors and environmental factors (such as soil and climate in which the peas are cultivated). Typically, peas contain 23.1–30.9% protein, 1.5–2.0% fat, and minor constituents such as vitamins, phytic acid, saponins, polyphenols, minerals, and oxalates. They also contain several classes of protein: globulin, albumin, prolamin, and glutelin. The proteins are mainly albumins and globulins, which account for 10-20% and 70-80% of the protein in the pea seed, respectively. The albumins are water-soluble and considered the metabolic and enzymatic proteins, while the globulins are salt soluble and act as the storage proteins for the seed. Globulins can be further classified into legumin and vicilin, which belong to the 11S and 7S seed storage protein classes, respectively. Legumin is a hexameric protein, and vicilin proteins are trimers. Pea protein is considered to be a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids. However, it is not balanced, as it has high levels of lysine and threonine but relatively low amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids including cysteine and methionine. Pea seeds contain 60-65% carbohydrates mainly composed of oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, polysaccharides, and disaccharides. The major carbohydrate fraction in peas is starch, which is the major storage carbohydrate in the cotyledons. Peas also contain high levels of dietary fibre, which consists of cellulose, gums, hemicellulose, pectin, mucilage, lignin, and resistant starches. Dry pea has 17-27% dietary fibre depending on their cultivar, environment, and global growing region. In terms of sugars, pea seeds contain 5-6% sucrose and raffinose. Sucrose ranges from 2.2% to 2.6%, whereas oligosaccharides, such as stachyose have a range of 1.3-3.2%, verbascose 1.2-4.0%, and raffinose 0.2-1.0% depending on cultivar and environment. The fat content of pea seeds ranges from 1.2% to 1.8% depending on the cultivar and about 25% of fatty acids are composed of oleic acid (18:1) and 50% of linoleic acid (18:2). Pea seeds are also a rich source of minerals and vitamins, such as folic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and niacin.
Uses
Dietary substitute
Pea protein can be used as a protein substitute for those who cannot consume other sources as it is not derived from any of the most common allergenic foods (wheat, peanuts, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, and milk). It may be used in baked goods or other cooking applications to replace common allergens. It is also processed industrially to form food products and alternative proteins such as alternative meat products, and non-dairy products. Manufacturers of alternatives produce a dairy alternative pea milk. Pea protein is also used in meat-alternatives and egg alternatives.
Functional ingredient Pea protein is a low-cost functional ingredient in food manufacturing to improve the nutritional value and texture of food products. It can be used to improve the viscosity, emulsification, gelation, stability, or fat-binding properties of food. For example, the capacity of pea protein to form stable foams is a property used to enhance the production of cakes, souffles, whipped toppings, and fudges.
Production The manufacturing process of pea protein concentrates and isolates consists of protein extraction, purification, and drying. The industrial production of pea protein begins with the steps of cleaning and splitting the pea crop and then processing them further. The cleaning process: Cleaning uses equipment such as indent cleaners, which are used to remove impurities. This process ensures that any allergens, such as wheat, barley and other seeds are removed, as these products contain gluten. If not removed, it would affect its classification as a gluten-free product. The splitting process: Following cleaning, the pea is split and "dehulled" using a dehuller. The dehullers are a device that splits the pea seed and extracts the part of the whole seed which is the hull. Further processing: Following the splitting process, the split peas are further processed either into starch, protein, and flour fractions. Pea protein can be produced using two methods:
The wet fractionation method; and The dry fractionation method.
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