Vegan Cheese versus Regular Cheese: A Nutritional and Cytotoxic Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v13i4.1034-1041.7436Keywords:
Food, Nutrition, Cytotoxicity, Vegan cheese, Plant-based protein, regular cheeseAbstract
Consumers are shifting to a plant-based lifestyle worldwide as more sustainable and healthier alternatives. However, despite the increasing popularity of plant-based vegan products, scientific evidence on their nutritional quality and health effects is still lacking. This study assessed the nutritional and cytotoxic characteristics of the vegan and regular cheese varieties sold in the retail markets in Istanbul, Türkiye in terms of total protein content, amino acid profile, vitamin B, calcium, and in vitro cytotoxicity using Kjeldahl, LC-MS/MS, HLPC, ICP-MS, and in vitro MTS assay, respectively. Our findings showed that the protein content in the regular cheese varieties was 20.7%, while it was 13.3% in vegan tofu only. The ratio between essential and non-essential amino acids in the regular and vegan tofu cheeses was 36.0/64.0 and 38.0/62.0, respectively. Vitamins B6, B9, and B12 were detected in none of the varieties, and calcium levels were found to be 568.1 in the regular cheeses and 17.8 mg/100 g in the vegan cheeses. Besides, in vitro, MTS assay demonstrated that regular cheese Roquefort and vegan varieties significantly decreased the cell viability of the HTC-116 human colon cancer cell line. Overall, the current research highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the vegan cheese types better to understand their nutritional, pre- and clinical toxicity, and bioavailability characteristics in a dose and time-dependent manner using advanced techniques and improving the nutritional quality of vegan products remains a challenge for the food industry.
References
Abdik H. (2022). Antineoplastic effects of erufosine on small cell and non-small cell lung cancer cells through induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Molecular biology reports, 49(4), 2963–2971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07117-6
Allied Market Research (2024, December 20). Cheese Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Source, by Type, by Product, by Distribution channel : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/cheese-market
Alzahrani, A., Ebel, R., Norton, G., Raab, A., & Feldmann, J. (2023). Iodine in plant-based dairy products is not sufficient in the UK: A market survey. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 79, 127218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127218
Andreani, G., Sogari, G., Marti, A., Froldi, F., Dagevos, H., & Martini, D. (2023). Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Technological, Nutritional, Environmental, Market, and Social Challenges and Opportunities. Nutrients, 15(2), 452. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020452
Boukid, F., Lamri, M., Dar, B. N., Garron, M., & Castellari, M. (2021). Vegan Alternatives to Processed Cheese and Yogurt Launched in the European Market during 2020: A Nutritional Challenge? Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 10(11), 2782. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10112782
Cheng, M., McCarl, B., & Fei, C. (2022). Climate Change and Livestock Production: A literature review. Atmosphere, 13(1), 140. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13010140
Clegg, M. E., Tarrado Ribes, A., Reynolds, R., Kliem, K., & Stergiadis, S. (2021). A comparative assessment of the nutritional composition of dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives available for sale in the UK and the implications for consumers’ dietary intakes. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 148, 110586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110586
Craig, W. J., Mangels, A. R., & Brothers, C. J. (2022). Nutritional Profiles of Non-Dairy Plant-Based Cheese Alternatives. Nutrients, 14(6), 1247. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14061247.
Dai, Z., Zheng, W., & Locasale, J. W. (2022). Amino acid variability, tradeoffs and optimality in human diet. Nature Communications, 13, 6683. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34486-0
de Las Heras-Delgado, S., Shyam, S., Cunillera, È., Dragusan, N., Salas-Salvadó, J., & Babio, N. (2023). Are plant-based alternatives healthier? A two-dimensional evaluation from nutritional and processing standpoints. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 169, 112857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112857
Diaz-Bustamante, M. L., Keppler, J. K., Reyes, L. H., & Alvarez Solano, O. A. (2023). Trends and prospects in dairy protein replacement in yogurt and cheese. Heliyon, 9(6), e16974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16974
Dobson, S., & Marangoni, A. G. (2023). Methodology and development of a high-protein plant-based cheese alternative. Current research in food science, 7, 100632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2023.100632
Estévez, M., Arjona, A., Sánchez-Terrón, G., Molina-Infante, J., & Martínez, R. (2024). Ultra-processed vegan foods: Healthy alternatives to animal-source foods or avoidable junk?. Journal of food science, 89(11), 7008–7021. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.17407
Etter, B., Michel, F., & Siegrist, M. (2024). Consumers’ categorizations of dairy products and plant-based milk, yogurt, and cheese alternatives. Appetite, 203, 107658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107658
Fathana, H., Iqhrammullah, M., Rahmi, R., Adlim, M., & Lubis, S. (2021). Tofu wastewater-derived amino acids identification using LC-MS/MS and their uses in the modification of chitosan/TiO2 film composite. Chemical Data Collections, 35, 100754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdc.2021.100754
Filipczak-Fiutak, M., Pluta-Kubica, A., Domagała, J., Duda, I., & Migdał, W. (2021). Nutritional value and organoleptic assessment of traditionally smoked cheeses made from goat, sheep and cow’s milk. PloS one, 16(7), e0254431. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254431
Fortune Business Insights. (2024, December 20). Cheese Market Size. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/cheese-market-104293.
Franco, C. N., Seabrook, L. J., Nguyen, S. T., Leonard, J. T., & Albrecht, L. V. (2022). Simplifying the B Complex: How Vitamins B6 and B9 Modulate One Carbon Metabolism in Cancer and Beyond. Metabolites, 12(10), 961. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12100961
Fresán, U., & Rippin, H. (2021). Nutritional Quality of Plant-Based Cheese Available in Spanish Supermarkets: How Do They Compare to Dairy Cheese?. Nutrients, 13(9), 3291. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093291
Geiker, N. R. W., Mølgaard, C., Iuliano, S., Rizzoli, R., Manios, Y., van Loon, L. J. C., Lecerf, J. M., Moschonis, G., Reginster, J. Y., Givens, I., & Astrup, A. (2020). Impact of whole dairy matrix on musculoskeletal health and aging-current knowledge and research gaps. Osteoporosis international, 31(4), 601–615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-019-05229-7
Glover, A., Hayes, H. E., Ni, H., & Raikos, V. (2024). A comparison of the nutritional content and price between dairy and non-dairy milks and cheeses in UK supermarkets: A cross sectional analysis. Nutrition and health, 30(1), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060221105744
Grasso, N., Roos, Y., Crowley, S., & O’Mahony, J. (2023). Physicochemical properties of plant-based cheese alternatives fortified with calcium. LWT, 193, 115657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2023.115657
Guggisberg, D., Risse, M. C., & Hadorn, R. (2012). Determination of Vitamin B12 in meat products by RP-HPLC after enrichment and purification on an immunoaffinity column. Meat science, 90(2), 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2011.07.009.
He, D., Zhu, Z., Zhao, L., Belshaw, N. S., Zheng, H., Li, X., & Hu, S. (2019). A practical method for measuring high precision calcium isotope ratios without chemical purification for calcium carbonate samples by multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Chemical Geology, 514, 105–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.020
Hefni, M., Öhrvik, V., Tabekha, M., & Witthöft, C. (2009). Folate content in foods commonly consumed in Egypt. Food Chemistry, 121(2), 540–545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.12.044
Hou, Y., Yin, Y., & Wu, G. (2015). Dietary essentiality of “nutritionally non-essential amino acids” for animals and humans. Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.), 240(8), 997–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/1535370215587913
Imarc. (2024, December 20). Vegan Cheese Market Report. https://www.imarcgroup.com/vegan-cheese-market
Innova Market Insights. (2024, December 20). Global Cheese Market: Non-Dairy Cheese and Cheese Consumption Trends. https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/trends/global-cheese-market/
Jovanović, M., Vojvodić, P., Tenji, D., Tomić, N., Nešić, J., Mitić-Ćulafić, D., & Miočinović, J. (2023). Cheese Fermented with Human-Derived Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and Mushroom Powders: A Novel Psychobiotic Food with Enhanced Bioactivity and Sensory Acceptability. Fermentation, 9(8), 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9080745
Kaharso, V. C., Muhoza, B., Kong, X., Hua, Y., & Zhang, C. (2021). Quality improvement of soymilk as influenced by anaerobic grinding method and calcium addition. Food Bioscience, 42, 101210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2021.101210
Kall, M. A. (2003). Determination of total vitamin B6 in foods by isocratic HPLC: a comparison with microbiological analysis. Food Chemistry, 82(2), 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0308-8146(02)00568-x
Katidi, A., Xypolitaki, K., Vlassopoulos, A., & Kapsokefalou, M. (2023). Nutritional Quality of Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Imitation Products and Comparison with Animal-Based Counterparts. Nutrients, 15(2), 401. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020401
Koseoglu, S. Z. A. (2020). Determination and evaluation of the pyridoxal, pyridoxine, and pyridoxamine forms of vitamin B6 in plant-based foods in terms of healthy vegetarian nutrition: Vitamin B6 profile in plant-based foods. Progress in Nutrition, 22(3), e2020015. https://doi.org/10.23751/pn.v22i3.8509
Lin, X., Duan, N., Wu, J., Lv, Z., Wang, Z., & Wu, S. (2023c). Potential food safety risk factors in plant-based foods: Source, occurrence, and detection methods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 138, 511–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2023.06.032
McCusker, S., Buff, P. R., Yu, Z., & Fascetti, A. J. (2014). Amino acid content of selected plant, algae and insect species: a search for alternative protein sources for use in pet foods. Journal of nutritional science, 3, e39. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2014.33
Moshtaghian, H., Hallström, E., Bianchi, M., & Bryngelsson, S. (2024). Nutritional profile of plant-based dairy alternatives in the Swedish market. Current research in food science, 8, 100712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100712
Peng, Y., Kyriakopoulou, K., Keppler, J. K., Venema, P., & Van Der Goot, A. J. (2021). Effect of calcium enrichment on the composition, conformation, and functional properties of soy protein. Food Hydrocolloids, 123, 107191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2021.107191
Rafiq, S., Gulzar, N., Huma, N., Hussain, I., & Murtaza, M. S. (2019). Evaluation of anti‐proliferative activity of Cheddar cheeses using colon adenocarcinoma (HCT‐116) cell line. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 73(1), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0307.12665
Rais, N., Ved, A., Shadab, M., Ahmad, R., & Shahid, M. (2022). Taurine, a non-proteinous essential amino acid for human body systems: an overview. Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, 41(1), 48–66. https://doi.org/10.1108/agjsr-04-2022-0019
Santos, A. L. G. D., Khemiri, S., Simões, S., Prista, C., Sousa, I., & Raymundo, A. (2023). The importance, prevalence and determination of vitamins B6 and B12 in food matrices: A review. Food Chemistry, 426, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136606
Shahani, K., Hathaway, I., & Kelly, P. (1962). B-Complex vitamin content of cheese II. niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, and folic acid. Journal of Dairy Science, 45(7), 833–841. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(62)89506-x
Tabak, T., Yılmaz, İ., & Tekiner, İ. H. (2021b). Investigation of the changes in volatile composition and amino acid profile of a gala-dinner dish by GC-Ms and LC-MS/MS analyses. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 25, 100398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2021.100398
Xu, N. N., Yang, D. T., Zhang, B. X., Liu, J. X., Ye, J. A., & Ren, D. X. (2020). Short communication: Influence of intramuscular injection of vitamin B12 in early-lactation dairy cows on Mozzarella cheese quality and vitamin B12 stability. Journal of dairy science, 103(11), 9835–9840. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18568
Xu, H., Wang, S., Gao, F., & Li, C. (2022). Vitamin B6, B9, and B12 Intakes and Cognitive Performance in Elders: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2014. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 18, 537–553. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S337617
Yaman, M. (2019). Determination and evaluation in terms of healthy nutrition of the pyridoxal, pyridoxine and pyridoxamine forms of vitamin B6 in animal-derived foods. European Journal of Science and Technology (15), 611-617. https://doi.org/10.31590/ejosat.540894
Yu, J., Kim, S., Baah, N. G., & Han, H. (2023). Veganism, a new hotel paradigm: Exploring the attributes of vegan-friendly hotels and guest approach behaviors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 117, 103639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103639
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
