Desarrollo de un sustituto cárnico a base de Musa paradisiaca (plátano)

Abstract

This study focused on developing a meat substitute from green banana flour (Musa paradisiaca) by leveraging the advantages of solid-state fermentation. In the first stage, five strains of Aspergillus sp. were evaluated under different time and temperature conditions to optimize the release of reducing sugars. Among them, the Aspergillus sp. 4 strain stood out for its high hydrolytic capacity, reaching 55.0 mg per mL after incubation at 25 Celsius degrees for 72 hours. Subsequently, this hydrolyzed substrate underwent a second fermentation step using Fusarium sp. across four experimental treatments. Although the treatment at 25 Celsius degrees for 72 hours achieved the highest protein content in this phase (2.78 percent), this value was lower than the initial protein content of the banana flour (4.14 percent). Using the resulting biomass, two plant-based meat prototypes were formulated: one with a texturizing agent and one without. The sensory evaluation, conducted by a panel of 15 semi-trained judges, revealed that the formulation with the texturizer was better received, achieving an average acceptability score of 4.0. Furthermore, the instrumental texture profile analysis for this sample showed a hardness of 1.46 N and a chewiness of 1.24 mJ, properties that were translated into a soft, cohesive, and palatable texture. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate the technological viability of transforming fermented banana flour into an innovative matrix for the development of meat analogues.