Structure and physical stability of plant-based food gel systems: Impact of protein (mung bean, pea, potato, soybean) and fat (coconut, sunflower).

Quinten Masijn, Sophie Libberecht, Annabel Meyfroot, Olivier Goemaere, Jana Hanskens, Ilse Fraeye

Open access · goldAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Heliyon, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

2citing papers in PubMed

1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

Protein-lipid interactions in food matrices and their roles in gastrointestinal lipid digestion.Food chemistry: X · 2026
Review
Heat-Induced Gelation of Legume Protein-Starch Systems: Mechanisms, Structure-Function Relationships and Food Application.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
Review

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Quinten MasijnKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

Sophie LibberechtKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

Annabel MeyfrootKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

Olivier GoemaereKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

Jana HanskensKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

Ilse FraeyeKU Leuven - Ghent, Meat Technology & Science of Protein-rich Foods (MTSP), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Ghent, Belgium.

KU Leuven · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite their popularity, plant-based food gel systems (GS) sometimes have suboptimal texture compared to animal-based products. Therefore, 4 commercial plant proteins (from mung bean, pea, potato and soybean) and 2 commercial plant fats (sunflower oil and coconut fat) in 2 contents (7.5 wt% and 17.5 wt%) were evaluated towards their contribution to structure and physical stability a lean (LGS, no fat) and an emulsified GS (EGS). Generally, protein source had a larger effect on structure and physical stability than fat source and content. Unheated, GS with soybean protein showed most structure and highest physical stability. Heated till 94 °C, the structure of GS increased drastically, but EGS showed less structure than LGS, attributed to low solid fat contents (SFC), hence low rigidity, of the incorporated oil droplets at 94 °C. Cooled till 5 °C all GS showed an additional increase in structure, for GS with mung bean and pea protein accompanied with an increase in physical stability. Overall, EGS with sunflower oil showed less structure and lower stability than EGS with coconut fat, likely due to their different SFC. At 5 °C, Peak force of GS with potato protein was highest. Across protein sources, EGS displayed a higher Peak force with coconut fat than with sunflower oil, again likely due to different SFC, hence, rigidity of the oil droplets. Physical stability of GS did not vary significantly between protein sources, fat sources nor fat contents, after a freeze-thaw cycle, nor during prolonged cold storage.

Indexed as

Plant fatPlant proteinProtein transitionTexture

Identifiers

PMID37662792

DOI10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18894

PMCPMC10474361

OpenAlexW4385612939

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.