Effect of Solid-State Fermentation on Plant-Sourced Proteins: A Review

The growing interest in plant-based proteins is driven by sustainability concerns and potential adverse reactions to animal protein consumption. Plant proteins, while promising, are known for their inferior digestibility compared to animal counterparts. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) offers an ancient, cost-effective approach to address this limitation. SSF enhances plant-based foods by augmenting protein content through microbial hydrolysis, thereby improving overall nutritional quality. This method not only boosts protein digestibility but also reduces larger polypeptides, generates bioactive peptides, refines amino acid profiles, and eliminates anti-nutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors and tannins. Further investigation is essential to optimize the purification of protein isolates and examine their behaviour during digestion and absorption using in vitro, cellular, and in vivo models. In conclusion, SSF represents a promising, cost-effective, and high-yield processing method to produce nutritionally enhanced plant proteins, aligning with the demands of both the industry and consumers.