Research Progress on Enzymatic Modification Technology and Its Application in Plant-Based Meat Products

Restructuring of plant proteins by extrusion can form plant-based meat products with similar quality characteristics to animal meat. As a beneficial complement to animal meat, plant-based meat products are of great significance to realize high-value utilization of proteins and guarantee efficient supply. However, the current plant-based meat products still have some prominent problems such as insufficient elasticity, loose structure and poor juiciness, and are mostly used in the form of minced meat in meatballs, meat patties, dumplings and other meat products, which cannot fully meet the demands of Chinese consumers yet. Enzymatic modification technology, which is safe, efficient, green and useful to modify protein structure and improve product texture and flavor, has been widely used in the research and development of meat products, and is also promising for application to plant-based meat products. This paper summarizes the differences in chemical structure and functional properties between animal and plant proteins, analyzes the mechanism and application in meat products of enzymatic modification of protein structure, and reviews the latest progress in the application of enzymatic modification combined with extrusion to plant-based meat products. We anticipate that this review will provide a reference for the development and quality improvement of new plant-based meat products in China.