Tomato leaves will not be the apparent alternative for another supply of protein – or, to be sincere, that a lot else – however they do have stunning potential.
They’re truly fairly dense within the beloved nutrient, containing as much as 27% protein.
May or not it’s extracted and used instead protein supply?
Can protein be extracted from tomato leaves?
The protein in tomato leaves has the potential to be extracted and used as a plant-based different. However doing so at scale is at the moment a piece in progress.
A PhD challenge, by researcher Marietheres Kleuter, explored this extraction.
The protein will be extracted utilizing alkaline strategies, though if it have been extracted in an industrial context, this is able to not essentially be this technique used, explains Luisa Trindade, the coordinator of the challenge at Wageningen College & Analysis within the Netherlands.
You possibly can extract far more protein from youthful tomato leaves, Trindade explains, than you possibly can from older leaves.
Because the leaves age, the protein breaks down into peptides, that are smaller molecules. That is the results of proteases, enzymes that break down proteins.
How can tomato leaf protein be utilized in meals?
A lot of the protein from tomato leaves is Rubisco, the identical sort of protein found in duckweed.
In crops, Rubisco performs an vital position in photosynthesis. As an edible protein, then again, it may be used to create tofu-like substances. Or not less than, it may possibly in a super state of affairs – at this stage, the presence of chlorophyll, a pigment, signifies that it nonetheless seems inexperienced, which the researchers fear can be unpalatable for shoppers.
Rubisco additionally has an identical performance to whey protein, Trindade explains.
Can tomato leaf protein be commercially viable?
Whereas the protein will be extracted, the problems at the moment are with the effectivity with which it may be finished. You would possibly extract 10% of the protein, explains Trindade, however 90% will nonetheless be there. If the protein is to be made commercially viable, this effectivity should be elevated.
Fifty per cent of the protein is insoluble, so this should be extracted another way. However this nonetheless leaves plenty of soluble protein that doesn’t get extracted.
There are two methods during which this drawback will be solved: both develop higher extraction strategies, or change the plant being extracted from.
Analysis is at the moment going down each to enhance the extraction course of, and the viability of the crops themselves for extraction.
“Our purpose is to know the genetic elements which are the boundaries to this extraction, in order that we are able to enhance them in new varieties,” explains Trindade.
“And in that second then I believe it can develop into commercially viable.”
World Meals Tech Awards 2025
Do you will have a food-tech innovation that you’re proud about? There’s nonetheless time to enter the European heats of Global Food Teach Awards 2025 . The cut-off date is July 18, and judges are in search of excellent concepts which are shaping the way forward for meals. Your innovation can influence any a part of the meals and beverage provide chain, from alt proteins and sustainable components to AI-driven options, personalised vitamin and intestine well being, upcycled merchandise, and cutting-edge good packaging. Winners can be invited to pitch reside to traders and trade leaders on stage at the Future Food-Tech summit in London on September 24 the place they’ll additionally obtain a trophy.
