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. 2025 Jul 23;20(7):e0325622.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325622. eCollection 2025.

Novel potential of low calorie plant burger: Functional turkey meat formulation optimized by replacing quinoa, chia, soy, amaranth and peas as vegetable protein and their influence on texture and sensory traits

Zeinab Erfanian  1 , Marjan Nouri  1
Affiliations

Novel potential of low calorie plant burger: Functional turkey meat formulation optimized by replacing quinoa, chia, soy, amaranth and peas as vegetable protein and their influence on texture and sensory traits

Zeinab Erfanian et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study explores the creation of a nutritionally and low-calorie turkey burger by integrating plant-based protein concentrates. Turkey burgers formulated with quinoa, chia, soybean, amaranth and pea proteins at inclusion levels of 0 and 30%. A Taguchi L8 orthogonal array employed to evaluate the effects on water (WHC) and oil (OHC) holding capacities, cooking loss, chemical properties, emulsion activity and stability. Optimal formulations including quinoa, soybean and amaranth at levels of 0, 12.5 and 25% developed using response surface methodology with a central composite design, emphasizing texture and overall acceptability and also microstructure analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The glutamic acid identified as the most abundant amino acid across all protein types. The burgers made entirely of turkey meat displayed the lowest pH (6.13) and protein content (17.36%). In contrast, the meat free samples exhibited higher moisture, fat, ash and fiber content along with improved WHC and also OHC and reduced cooking loss. Plant protein formulations showed enhanced elasticity and lower levels of hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness compared to the meat-only samples. Sensory evaluations indicated an inclusion preference for protein concentrates with the optimal formulation consisting of 25% quinoa, 11.86% soybean, and 25% amaranth. SEM analysis confirmed the successful integration of vegetable proteins into the burger matrix. These findings highlighted the potential for mass-producing turkey burgers with reduced meat content, enhanced nutritional value, functional and sensory properties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The obtained flow chart for formulation preparation of turkey burger samples.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The high-performance liquid chromatography in quinoa, chia, soy, amaranth, and pea protein concentrates.
Fig 3
Fig 3. The obtained diagrams of the Taguchi scheme design in quinoa, soybean, and amaranth protein concentrates.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Three-dimensional (3D) response surface plots indicating the significant (p < 0.05) interaction effect of factors (A: Quinoa, B: Soybean, C: Amaranth at 0 to 25% concentrations) on the burger.
Fig 5
Fig 5. The microstructure characterization of control and optimal samples in turkey meat burgers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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