Plant-based meat yields higher share of absorbable protein than traditional meat: study

While plant-derived kababs may still struggle to replicate the taste and texture of meat from a tandoori joint, they may contain relatively more protein in a form that the body can absorb, according to a study presented on Monday (October 26, 2026).

In a collaboration between the CSIR–Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, and the Good Food Institute (GFI) India, a non-profit that promotes alternative proteins such as plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated meat, scientists investigated whether protein bioavailability (meaning protein in a form that’s nutritively useful to the body) of traditional meat was the same as that of plant-based meat.

Tests on five cooked plant-based products — two burger patties, a nugget and two seekh kebabs — showed higher bioavailability percentages than their chicken counterparts, according to the findings presented at a press conference on Monday (October 26). The plant-based kebabs scored 80.8% and 86.1% against 38.8% for chicken. The nugget scored 61.2% against 43.4%, and the patties recorded about 57% and 58% against 21.2%.

The findings do not mean plant-based meat is healthier, but only that they are nutritively comparable, as ‘healthier’ is a subjective term, Dr. Padma Ishwarya, senior scientist at GFI India, told The Hindu. “It’s too much of a vague term. It’s too broad a term…for health, we need to do further studies.”

The chicken products held more crude protein and released more amino acids, the building blocks of protein, during digestion, and Dr. Ishwarya said more products and samples would be tested in the next phase.

The work has not yet been published as a journal paper. “It is a report that is hosted on our website, but it is very much peer-reviewed,” Dr. Ishwarya said in a conversation with The Hindu. Two experts reviewed it, she said, and it was an overview and that detailed manuscripts would follow.

The team used an in vitro method that simulated digestion in a laboratory. Samples went through a two-minute salivary phase, then a stomach phase with digestive enzymes at pH 2 to 3, and then an intestinal phase. The method follows INFOGEST, an internationally harmonised protocol, Dr. Ishwarya said.

The team added an ultrafiltration membrane chosen to mimic the pore size of the human intestine. Whatever passed through the membrane was deemed bioavailable, and only free amino acids were measured. Each sample was adjusted to start with 40 milligrammes of protein.

Animal studies remain the gold standard, she said, but are tedious and require ethical clearances. The simulated method is faster and more reproducible. The team plans to conduct tests across laboratories next year so that NABL-accredited labs can use the method.

Plant-based meat, Dr. Ishwarya said, is made “specifically for biomimicking animal-derived meat”, unlike crisps or cereals, which are plant-based foods. It is made from soya, pea or wheat gluten, mostly soya, and shaped by extrusion, a process in which material is pushed through a die under heat and pressure. She said it contains no synthetic chemicals beyond ingredients such as spices and texturisers.

The study examined only protein. An earlier analysis in 2024 of about 120 products in the Indian market, she said, found that saturated fat and sodium levels were comparable to those in animal-derived products, leaving room for reduction. Plant-based products also supplied dietary fibre, which animal-derived products do not.