Soy protein powder keeps green plant pigments potent after digestion
Turkiewicz IP, Tkacz K, Brzezowska J, Wojdyło A
Food Science
The deep green color and nutritional punch of leafy greens and herbs you juice or dry at home could last far longer on the shelf if you pair them with the right binder instead of copper additives.
Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green, breaks down quickly and loses its health benefits once it's extracted and dried. Researchers tested different drying methods and carrier ingredients, like soy protein and inulin fiber, to see which best preserved the pigment's antioxidant power and its ability to help manage blood sugar. They found that spray-drying with soy protein worked better than adding copper, which is a common trick to stabilize chlorophyll but ended up weakening its health benefits instead.
Key Findings
Spray drying with soy protein isolate produced the highest chlorophyll content (247.39 mg/100g dry weight), over 8 times more than copper-modified extract freeze-dried with inulin (29.70 mg/100g)
Native chlorophyll extracts inhibited the DPP-4 enzyme (linked to blood sugar regulation) more strongly than copper-treated versions, with lower IC50 values (0.84-1.12 vs 1.45-1.96 mg/mL)
Copper treatment improved pigment shelf stability and reduced degradation into pheophytin, but reduced antioxidant and antidiabetic activity compared to native chlorophyll
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a way to lock in the health benefits of green chlorophyll extracts by spray-drying them with soy protein, creating a stable powder that keeps its antioxidant and blood-sugar-regulating properties even after digestion.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Spray-dried microencapsulation as a strategy for stabilizing chlorophyll-rich extracts: pigment profiling, digestive fate, and in vitro biological activity with and without Cu2+ incorporation.
The limited stability and digestive functionality of chlorophyll-rich systems remain major challenges in the development of functional green powders. This study aimed to investigate the stabilizati...
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