Cai, Minxuan2025-09-122025-09-122025-06-252025-07-24http://hdl.handle.net/1993/39350Introduction: Incorporating protein-rich food industry by-products, such as sunflower meal (SFM), into foods aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development goals, as it offers environmental-friendly food alternatives for a secure food future. SFM is rich in protein and indispensable amino acids, making it a promising candidate for enhancing the nutritional quality of novel foods such as plant-based meat analogues. This study investigated the production of high-moisture meat analogues (HMMAs) using blends of expeller-pressed SFM and pea protein isolate (PPI). Methods: Defatted SFM was produced using a laboratory-scale expeller press, which extracted oil from dehulled sunflower seeds at a controlled temperature of 70°C. The blends for extrusion contained 40% SFM-60% PPI and 50% SFM-50 % PPI to achieve a balanced amino acid composition. During extrusion, the cooling die temperature was maintained at 80-50°C, with a screw speed of 200 rpm and a feed rate of 0.5 kg/h (d.b.). The effects of feed moisture content (FMC) (48% and 58%, w.b.), extruder barrel temperature profile (60-80-115-125°C, 80-100-125-135°C, and 100-120-135-145°C), and SFM concentration (40% and 50%) on the physical (texture and color) and nutritional (protein quality and anti-nutritional factors) properties of the resulting HMMAs were examined. Results: The HMMAs produced in this study had comparable protein quality to real meat, with 70-74% (d.b.) protein content and 86-89% in-vitro protein digestibility, while tryptophan was the first limiting amino acid. The texture and color analysis showed that the meat analogues were harder and darker than cooked chicken. The HMMAs became softer and lighter in color as FMC increased and extrusion temperature decreased. Moreover, extrusion processing significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the levels of anti-nutritional compounds including phytic acids, trypsin inhibitors, and chlorogenic acid. Conclusion: This research offered valuable insights into the potential of replacing PPI with SFM to produce HMMAs, demonstrating a sustainable way to add value to an underutilized by-product in the food industry. The understanding of the effect of extrusion conditions on the physical and nutritional properties of SFM-PPI blend-based meat analogues is important for the development of high-quality plant-based protein products.engSunflower mealMeat analoguesHigh-moisture extrusionProtein qualityAnti-nutritional factors