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Leaf protein concentrate
 
 
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Leaf protein concentrate (LPC) is a concentrated
Concentration

In chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given chemical substance there is mixed with another substance. This can apply to any sort of chemical mixture, but most frequently the concept is limited to homogeneous solutions, where it refers to the amount of solute in the solvent....
 form of the protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
s found in the leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 of plants. It has been examined as a human or animal food source, because it is potentially the cheapest, most abundant source of available protein. Although humans can derive some protein from the direct consumption leaves as leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
s, the human digestive system would not be able to deal with the enormous bulk of leaves needed to meet dietary protein requirements with leaf vegetables alone.

Application
LPC was first suggested as a human food in the 1960s, but it has not achieved much success, despite early promise.






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Leaf protein concentrate (LPC) is a concentrated
Concentration

In chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given chemical substance there is mixed with another substance. This can apply to any sort of chemical mixture, but most frequently the concept is limited to homogeneous solutions, where it refers to the amount of solute in the solvent....
 form of the protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
s found in the leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 of plants. It has been examined as a human or animal food source, because it is potentially the cheapest, most abundant source of available protein. Although humans can derive some protein from the direct consumption leaves as leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
s, the human digestive system would not be able to deal with the enormous bulk of leaves needed to meet dietary protein requirements with leaf vegetables alone.

Application


LPC was first suggested as a human food in the 1960s, but it has not achieved much success, despite early promise. The increasing reliance on feedlot
Feedlot

A feedlot or feedyard is a type of Factory farming#Confined Animal Feeding Operations which is used for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, prior to slaughter....
 based animal rearing to satisfy human appetites for meat has increased demand for cheaper vegetable protein sources. This has recently led to renewed interest in LPC to reduce the use of human-edible vegetable protein sources in animal feed.

Health issues


Leaf protein is a good source of amino acid
Amino acid

In chemistry, an amino acid is a molecule containing both amine and carboxyl functional groups. These molecules are particularly important in biochemistry, where this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent....
s, with methionine
Methionine

Methionine is an a-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This Essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar....
 being a limiting factor. Leaf proteins can also be rich in polyphenol
Polyphenol

Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol unit or building block per molecule....
s. The challenges that have to be overcome before LPC becomes a viable protein source for humans include the high fiber
Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber, sometimes called "roughage", is the indigestible portion of plant foods that pushes food through the digestive system, absorbing water and easing defecation....
 content and other antinutritional factor
Antinutritional factor

An antinutritional factor is a substance which, when present in human or animal foods, reduces growth. Examples are phytate, protease inhibitors and excessive dietary fiber....
s, such as phytate, cyanide
Cyanide

A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the nitrile , which consists of a carbon atom chemical bond to a nitrogen atom. Inorganic cyanides are hydrogen cyanide salts in which cyanide is generally the anion CN-....
 and tannin
Tannin

Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and Precipitation or shrink proteins. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following the consumption of red wine or an unripened fruit....
s.

Methods of production


Generally, LPC is produced by pulping leaves and pressing the juice out, heating the juice to coagulate the protein, and filtering the protein out and drying it.

See also


  • Leaf vegetable
    Leaf vegetable

    Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
  • List of plants with edible leaves
    List of plants with edible leaves

    These are plants whose leaves are known to have been eaten by humans, typically as leaf vegetables or herbs.Inclusion on this list does not imply safety....