A metabolomics comparison of plant-based meat and grass-fed meat indicates large nutritional differences despite comparable Nutrition Facts panels

• Published in: Scientific reports 2021-07, Vol.11 (1), p.13828-13828, Article 13828
• Main Authors: van Vliet, Stephan, Bain, James R., Muehlbauer, Michael J., Provenza, Frederick D., Kronberg, Scott L., Pieper, Carl F., Huffman, Kim M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/443; 631/443/319; 692/308; Allantoin; Amino acids; Animal Feed; Animals; Anserine - metabolism; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Ascorbic acid; Beef; Cattle; Docosahexaenoic acid; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - isolation & purification; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - isolation & purification; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - metabolism; Glucosamine; Grasses; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hydroxyproline; Immunomodulation; Inflammation; Meat; Meat - analysis; Medical personnel; Metabolites; Metabolomics; multidisciplinary; Nicotinamide; Nutrients; Nutrients - isolation & purification; Nutrients - metabolism; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Nutritive Value; Oxidants; Oxidizing agents; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Phytosterols; Plant-based foods; Red Meat - analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spermine; Squalene; Taste; Tocopherols; Tyrosol; Vanillic acid; Vitamins
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93100-3

A new generation of plant-based meat alternatives—formulated to mimic the taste and nutritional composition of red meat—have attracted considerable consumer interest, research attention, and media coverage. This has raised questions of whether plant-based meat alternatives represent proper nutritional replacements to animal meat. The goal of our study was to use untargeted metabolomics to provide an in-depth comparison of the metabolite profiles a popular plant-based meat alternative (n = 18) and grass-fed ground beef (n = 18) matched for serving size (113 g) and fat content (14 g). Despite apparent similarities based on Nutrition Facts panels, our metabolomics analysis found that metabolite abundances between the plant-based meat alternative and grass-fed ground beef differed by 90% (171 out of 190 profiled metabolites; false discovery rate adjusted p