Location: Functional Foods Research
Project Number: 5010-30600-010-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: May 4, 2025
End Date: May 3, 2030
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop commercially viable innovative processing technologies and methodologies that produce health-promoting food ingredients and bioactive compounds from climate resilient food crops and emerging cash crops.
Sub-objective 1.A: Enhance the health-promoting and commercially important functional properties of SMASH fractions, extracts, and byproducts by thermomechanical processing treatments alone or in combination to obtain new components and composites.
Sub-objective 1.B: Enhance the health-promoting and commercially important functional properties of SMASH fractions, extracts, and byproducts by chemical/enzymatic treatments or addition of other grain- or legume-based ingredients for functional composite formation, nutritionally complete diets, and flavor, texture, or structure improvement of food matrices.
Sub-objective 1.C: Discovery of natural products derived from under-utilized SMASH crops for taste-modulation and investigating the consumer perception of these natural food additives.
Sub-objective 1.D: Conduct Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of value-added food ingredients and nutraceuticals made from sorghum, millet, alfalfa seeds, silflower seeds, and hemp seeds.
Objective 2: Explore properties and functionality of alfalfa protein as ingredients for healthy and tasty food products and alternative ingredients for the cosmetic industry.
Sub-objective 2.A: Develop and optimize a cost-efficient and sustainable technological strategy to extract commercially viable alfalfa leaf proteins by thermomechanical processing treatments in combination with biological and chemical processes to obtain proteins with good techno-functional properties.
Sub-objective 2.B: Enhance consumer acceptability of extracted alfalfa leaf protein and their composites in food and non-food applications.
Sub-objective 2.C: Conduct Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of various alfalfa utilization strategies.
Objective 3: Explore properties and functional characteristics for commercial potentials of perennial silflower as a climate resilient novel source of food ingredients and feedstock for plant-based skincare products.
Sub-objective 3.A: Explore strategies that employ thermomechanical, biological, and enzymatic treatments of silflower seeds to attenuate negative sensory issues associated with silflower seed and sunflower seed meals.
Sub-objective 3.B: Develop food applications from silflower meal components and conduct digestive health study.
Sub-objective 3.C: Explore non-food applications from silflower seed components.
Approach:
This research will improve understanding of gastrointestinal protein digestibility and protein techno-functionality of Sorghum, Millet, Alfalfa, Silflower, and Hemp (SMASH) materials and protein extracts with development of scalable technologies that will lead to food and non-food applications. This research will also provide in-depth knowledge of gastrointestinal toxicity and bioavailability of SMASH proteins. Finally, it will result in optimal processing strategies to reduce processing waste and improve profit margin for processors with the assistance of Technical-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Outcomes from this project will include a variety of food prototypes enriched with plant proteins or associated phytochemicals along with publications and data that will inform stakeholders in SMASH communities about food industry utilization. ARS will actively seek technology transfer to facilitate adaptation of food applications of these crops. In addition, data generated from the research work can be used as feedback information for plant breeders who specifically develop varietals for food ingredient applications. There exist two primary challenges facing wider utilization of SMASH: lack of economic opportunities and knowledge base. We will focus on identifying the effects of synergistic thermomechanical and biological treatments on SMASH grains, flours, and fractions. At the same time, we will develop processing strategies based upon understanding of SMASH component interactions and information from in vitro and in vivo digestive health studies to enhance the nutritional, structural and functional properties of SMASH-based food products. The processed SMASH materials will be incorporated into standard food formulations with the aim of maximizing the content of SMASH-based ingredients with marketable sensory properties. Non-food applications will also be investigated based on the physical and chemical properties of SMASH materials. The outcomes of this research will expand domestic and international markets for SMASH crops, contribute to the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, and benefit farmers and consumers.