There is a foreseeable need for plant-based proteins to ensure sustainable food chain.  To meet the demand, alternative protein sources have been investigated over the past few years and the market is fast growing. Here we investigated the potential of sugar beet leaves as an alternative protein source using omics approaches. On a dry matter basis, sugar beet leaves contain an average of 20% crude protein with a well-balanced amino acid composition. Sugar beet leaf proteins were extracted via three different precipitation methods: <i>isoelectric point, ammonium sulfate, and thermal precipitation </i>followed by freeze drying to obtain powders. High pressure homogenization was used as a pretreatment method to increase the extraction yield. The proteins in both soluble and insoluble fractions of sugar beet leaves harvested in various seasons and extracted by different processes were characterized in the final powder forms. Characterizations were performed by isolating proteins using sonication, centrifugation, ion exchange chromatography, denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, the proteome of sugar beet leaves was determined for the first time with a mass spectrometry-based proteomics method. Over two hundred plant proteins were identified in sugar beet leaves and RubisCO was found the most abundant protein among all. This research will not only elucidate the whole proteome of sugar beet leaves, but also guide to explore the other plants with green leaves to be used as protein source.

Green proteome: Waste into wealth

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.