Health and Environmental Implications of Alternative Proteins in Human Diets: Nutritional Value, Gut Microbiota Modulation, and Sustainability Perspectives
Jul 2026· International Journal of Food Science & Technology· Vol 61· 0 citations
TL;DR
Overall, alternative proteins represent a promising pathway toward sustainable food system transformation, but their successful integration will depend on evidence-based development, improved processing strategies, standardized evaluation, and supportive policy frameworks.
Abstract
The increasing global demand for sustainable and nutritious food has intensified interest in alternative proteins as potential contributors to healthier diets and lower-impact food systems. This review critically examines the health and environmental implications of major alternative protein sources, including plant-based, insect, microalgal, fungal/mycoprotein, precision-fermented, and cell-cultured proteins. It discusses their classification, production pathways, nutritional quality, amino acid composition, digestibility, micronutrient content, and functional properties in food systems. The review also summarizes current evidence regarding their effects on diet quality, metabolic health, systemic inflammation, and gut microbiota modulation. While plant-based proteins and mycoprotein show comparatively stronger evidence for beneficial health outcomes, newer protein systems still require further long-term clinical validation. From an environmental perspective, alternative proteins generally demonstrate advantages over conventional animal proteins in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water demand, although trade-offs related to energy use, processing intensity, and scalability remain important. In addition, this review highlights major barriers to adoption, including sensory limitations, technological challenges, economic constraints, consumer acceptance, and regulatory issues. Overall, alternative proteins represent a promising pathway toward sustainable food system transformation, but their successful integration will depend on evidence-based development, improved processing strategies, standardized evaluation, and supportive policy frameworks.
Background: The global shift to sustainable diets has raised interest in plant-based protein sources, particularly pulses, due to their nutritional value, health benefits, and low environmental impact. Pulses are rich in protein, dietary fiber, and a variety of bioactive compounds that may influence gut microbiota and metabolic health. Objective: This narrative review aims to evaluate the role of pulse consumption in modulating gut microbiota, improving metabolic health, and contributing to the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), while considering the impact of processing techniques such as fermentation and sustainability aspects. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using major scientific databases to identify relevant studies published during the last 10 years. Evidence from in vitro, in vivo experimental and human studies was included, focusing on pulse composition, bioactive compounds, gut microbiota modulation, metabolic outcomes, and the effects of processing methods such as fermentation. Results: Pulses demonstrate promising potential to improve gut health by promoting beneficial microbiota, increasing short-chain fatty acid production, and enhancing intestinal barrier function. Evidence also suggests favorable effects on lipid metabolism, glycemic control, and inflammation. Processing techniques, particularly fermentation, improve nutrient bioavailability, digestibility, and bioactive profiles. Beyond health outcomes, this review places pulses in the larger context, emphasizing their contribution to healthy, sustainable diets. Conclusions: Pulses are key components for achieving sustainable, health-promoting diets with promising effects on gut and metabolic health. However, current evidence is largely derived from preclinical studies, highlighting the need for long-term human interventions and scalable processing strategies to fully realize their potential.
Claudia E. Lazarte, Rucha Rane, F. Hållenius et al.· Nutrients· 0 citations
The global food system is under growing strain to deliver sufficient high-quality protein for a rising population, while curbing environmental degradation, tackling climate change, and maintaining long-term food security. Conventional livestock production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, excessive land and water use, and biodiversity loss, which has boosted demand for sustainable alternative proteins such as plant-based, microbial, algal, insect, fermented, and cultivated meat products. This multidisciplinary review comprehensively assesses these emerging protein sources across nutrition, environmental performance, and consumer acceptance. It evaluates their amino acid composition, protein digestibility, micronutrient density, and health effects, and quantifies their environmental impacts using life cycle assessment indicators. Noticeable trade-offs in processing intensity, energy consumption, and production scalability are also discussed. Key factors shaping consumer adoption, including sensory traits, cultural perceptions, affordability, and food neophobia, are analyzed. This study further explores technological advances, circular economy strategies, regulatory updates, and policy support for protein transition, identifies critical research gaps, and proposes an integrated multi-dimensional evaluation framework. The findings provide practical guidance for researchers, industrial practitioners, and policymakers to build resilient, equitable, and eco-friendly protein systems benefiting both human and planetary health.
Sadaqat Ali, Benish Ali, K. Ahmad et al.· Frontiers in Nutrition· 0 citations
The growing demand for sustainable and nutritionally adequate protein sources has intensified interest in alternative plant proteins capable of supporting future food systems. However, many conventional plant proteins still present limitations related to allergenicity, digestibility, sensory quality, and functional performance, highlighting the need for novel sustainable ingredients. In this context, rice protein has emerged as a promising alternative due to its hypoallergenic nature, gluten-free composition, relatively high digestibility, suitability for specialized dietary applications, favorable techno-functional characteristics, and compatibility with sustainable food production systems. This review provides an integrated perspective on rice protein by critically discussing its nutritional quality, techno-functional properties, health-promoting potential, emerging food applications, and contribution to sustainable food systems, thereby addressing knowledge that has remained fragmented across previous reviews. Recent scientific studies addressing protein composition, digestibility, bioactive peptides, processing technologies, and applications in plant-based foods and nutraceutical systems were critically analyzed. Current evidence demonstrated that rice proteins and rice-derived peptides exhibit antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and immunomodulatory activities, while recent advances in protein modification technologies have significantly improved solubility, emulsification, gelation, and structuring properties. Furthermore, the valorization of rice bran and broken rice supports circular economy strategies and sustainable food production. In this way, rice protein represents a strategic ingredient for the development of next-generation functional foods and sustainable health-oriented dietary systems.
S. Meza, L. Rodrigues, Sonia Medina et al.· Plant Foods for Human Nutrit...· 0 citations
The pursuit of sustainable and efficient animal production systems has intensified global interest in microbiota-targeted nutritional strategies. This review synthesizes current research on prebiotics and probiotics, selectively utilized microbial substrates and beneficial live microorganisms, respectively, that confer health benefits, across major livestock and aquaculture sectors, including poultry, swine, ruminants, fish, and shrimp. It examines the fundamental role of host-specific gut microbiomes in regulating health and productivity and elucidates how prebiotics, alone or in synergistic formulations with probiotics, modulate these microbial communities. Mechanisms of action involve enhanced nutrient digestibility, improved intestinal morphology and barrier integrity, selective stimulation of beneficial bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium), suppression of pathogens (e.g., Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Vibrio), and potentiation of innate and humoral immune responses. Consistent evidence demonstrates that microbiota-targeted interventions improve key zootechnical indicators, including weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and carcass quality, while enhancing animal welfare and resilience to environmental and physiological stressors. A pivotal finding is their ability to reduce reliance on antimicrobial agents, addressing antibiotic resistance and aligning with consumer demand for ethical and natural production systems. Furthermore, this review highlights the valorisation of agro-industrial by-products (e.g., fruit pomace, cereal brans) and novel substrates such as Hermetia illucens (black soldier fly) as functional, cost-effective sources that embed animal nutrition within a circular bioeconomy framework. By integrating multidisciplinary findings from terrestrial and aquatic species, this review concludes that microbiota-based functional nutrition is indispensable for advancing next-generation sustainable animal production, uniting productivity, environmental stewardship, and animal welfare while supporting safe, ethical, and climate-resilient food systems worldwide. Probiotic and prebiotic integration in swine, poultry, cattle, and aquaculture systems. Supports animal health, feed efficiency, and sustainable by-product use, aligning with SDG 2 and SDG 12. Repurposing agro-industrial residues as novel prebiotics closes the resource loop, reinforcing the circular economy.
João Victor dos Anjos Almeida, Julia Memrava Cabrera, Mauro de Medeiros Oliveira et al.· Brazilian Journal of Microbi...· 1 citation
The gastrointestinal microbiota has a pivotal role in human health, orchestrating metabolic homeostasis, immunological activity, and nutrient bioavailability. Dietary modulation of gut microbiota is the simplest and most effective approach to preventing and managing metabolic and inflammatory disorders. Duckweed, particularly
Wolffia
species, has recently emerged as a sustainable, nutrient‐dense functional food with potential microbiome‐mediated benefits. Beyond its high‐quality protein content, duckweed provides fermentable fibers, polyphenols, minerals, and micronutrients including vitamin B
12
—that potentially influence gut microbial composition and metabolic activity. Evidence from compositional analyses, in vitro human colonic fermentation models, animal studies, and controlled dietary interventions suggests that duckweed‐derived substrates support short‐chain fatty acid production, generate bioactive phenolic metabolites, and interact with probiotic taxa, positioning duckweed as a prebiotic‐like matrix with synbiotic potential. Clinical studies within whole‐diet frameworks, such as green‐Mediterranean dietary patterns incorporating
Wolffia globosa
, report favorable metabolic outcomes alongside microbiome‐associated signals. This review synthesizes mechanistic, preclinical, and clinical evidence to reframe duckweed not just as another alternative protein, but as a microbiota‐accessible, synbiotic‐ready food matrix, while identifying the critical evidence gaps that currently limit clinical translation and regulatory constraints.
Flavonoids comprise a broad range of plant polyphenols present in many foods, particularly fruits, vegetables, pulses, cereals, tea, and cocoa. Their relevance to human health has been linked to several complementary actions, including modulation of oxidative balance, inflammation, immune responses, vascular function, and metabolic control. This narrative review integrates evidence on flavonoid chemistry and classification with information on food sources, absorption, biotransformation, and health-related outcomes. It considers the principal dietary groups - flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, isoflavones, and anthocyanins - together with the foods in which they commonly occur. Particular attention is given to the processes that determine systemic exposure, such as digestion, microbial conversion, interactions within the food matrix, and person-to-person metabolic variation. Population and intervention studies generally support favorable associations with cardiovascular and metabolic health, whereas conclusions concerning neurodegeneration and cancer remain less certain. The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as both a converter of flavonoids and a target of their activity, making this reciprocal relationship relevant to individual responses. Although the overall findings are encouraging, dose-response patterns, sustained effects, and causal mechanisms still require stronger clinical investigation. Flavonoids should therefore be viewed as potentially valuable components of preventive and personalized nutrition rather than as uniformly acting compounds.
E. G. Güleç Peker, A. Cebi· Kybele Medical Journal· 0 citations
