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Innovative Method for Culturing Pork Fat Tissue Developed by NUS Researchers
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have pioneered a straightforward and scalable technique for the cultivation of pork fat tissue, utilizing protein scaffolds derived from secalin, a protein sourced from rye grain.
The field of cellular agriculture presents a promising alternative to traditional meat production, yet it encounters notable technological hurdles. A principal challenge impeding the widespread commercialization of cultured meat is the absence of edible and effective scaffolds that fulfill the essential criteria for scalability, cost-efficiency, and safety.
Under the leadership of Professor Huang Dejian from the NUS Department of Food Science and Technology, an innovative approach was discovered, leveraging rye secalin as a viable material for edible scaffolding. The researchers introduced a novel template-leaching method to create scaffolds from secalin. This technique is entirely food-grade, economical, and sustainable, yielding scaffolds characterized by high porosity and optimal mechanical properties suitable for the growth of pork fat cells.
The findings of this study were featured in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
This new, patent-pending technology effectively addresses previous limitations in scaffold production concerning cost, practicality, and scalability, thus opening new avenues for the cellular agriculture industry.
In their research, the team employed common sugar cubes as expansive templates to form sponge-like secalin scaffolds. These scaffolds exhibited an impressive porosity nearing 90%, significant water stability, and suitable mechanical properties (below 3 kPa) for adipose tissue cultivation.
Adipose tissue plays a crucial role in meat quality, contributing to the distinct flavor, texture, and nutritional content associated with meat. Following a 12-day period of culturing porcine adipose cells, the generated pork fat tissue closely imitated the look, feel, flavor, and fatty acid profiles of traditional pork subcutaneous adipose tissue.
To facilitate larger-scale fabrication of secalin scaffolds, the research team is also experimenting with customizing larger sugar cubes. In addition, they are investigating a differentiation medium filled with effective, food-safe ingredients aimed at controlling the fatty acid profiles and boosting the nutritional benefits of the cultured pork fat.
Professor Huang commented on the potential of this research, stating, “Cereal prolamins represent encouraging natural sources for scaffold innovation, and they can be sourced from spent grains, such as the barley grains that are produced locally. Our straightforward and eco-friendly approach utilizing sugar cubes as templates should promote the large-scale production of edible scaffolds for cultured meat, simultaneously contributing to a sustainable and circular economy in the region.”
More information: Lingshan Su et al, 3D Porous Edible Scaffolds from Rye Secalin for Cell-Based Pork Fat Tissue Culturing, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c09713
Citation: Cellular agriculture research manages to culture pork fat tissue on rye protein scaffolds (2024, October 3) retrieved 3 October 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-10-cellular-agriculture-culture-pork-fat.html
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