Scientists Develop Cost-Effective Method to Extract Protein from Dried Leafy Vegetables
Researchers have developed a scalable, low-cost process to extract RuBisCO — the world's most abundant protein — from dried leafy biomass such as spinach, rocket, and kale. Current extraction methods are designed for fresh plant material and are poorly suited to the dried residues commonly generated as agricultural waste. The method could help convert vegetable byproducts into functional food ingredients, supporting more circular and sustainable food supply chains.
A study posted to bioRxiv presents a new extraction protocol for recovering food-grade RuBisCO (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) from dried leafy vegetables, including commercially available leaf powders. RuBisCO is the most abundant protein on Earth and is valued for its nutritional quality and functional properties such as foaming capacity. Using spinach as a primary model, the method achieved approximately 75 mg of high-purity RuBisCO per 100 g of fresh-leaf equivalent, representing an extraction efficiency of around 70%. Adding 20 mM calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the process boosted efficiency further to approximately 90%. The researchers emphasize that the approach requires no resource-intensive processing steps, making it practical for large-scale application. The work is framed as a route to valorise the substantial quantities of residual biomass generated throughout agri-food supply chains, where drying is already widely used for stabilisation and logistics. The authors argue this supports waste-to-value strategies for sustainable plant protein production.
What's missing
As a preprint, this study has not yet undergone peer review, so findings should be treated as preliminary. The study does not report detailed economic cost analyses or life-cycle assessments that would be needed to confirm commercial viability. Sensory properties and consumer acceptability of the recovered protein fraction are not addressed. Long-term stability of the extracted RuBisCO under various storage conditions is also not evaluated. The generalisability of the method beyond the three model crops tested remains to be demonstrated.
What different sources said
- bioRxivCenter
Rapid and Cost-Effective Preparation of a RuBisCO-Rich Protein Fraction from Dried Leafy Biomass
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