Individual Presentation: Reverse Micelle Extraction as a Method for Plant Protein Recovery: Insights From Hemp Byproducts

Plant-based protein demand continues to grow, yet conventional protein extraction methods often require a prior defatting step and produce isolates with undesirable coloration, limiting their applications. Reverse micelle extraction (RME) provides a method to solubilize proteins under mild extraction conditions, producing colorless isolates while preserving protein structure. Despite its promise, RME is not widely applied to complex plant by-products, which contain residual oil and fibrous material.This presentation will focus on the extraction effectiveness, protein structure, techno-functional characteristics, and nutritional properties of protein isolates obtained via RME with food-grade surfactants, using hemp seed meal, a complex plant-based by-product, as a case study. Current results showed that protein isolates produced via RME achieved 72.5 ± 0.2% protein purity (PP), 10.8 ± 1.3% protein extraction yield (PY), and 23.3 ± 3.7% recovery (PR), compared with alkaline extraction, which produced 71.8 ± 1.9% PP, 8.9 ± 1.4% PY, and 18.8 ± 2.9% PR. RME isolates yielded lighter colors and exhibited reduced green pigmentation compared to conventional methods. RME was evaluated using food-grade surfactants such as lecithin and Span 60. Box-Behnken trials assessed the effects of water-to-surfactant ratio (W₀), surfactant molarity, and surfactant composition on extraction behavior and protein characteristics. Results indicate that intermediate W₀ values (20) produce the most favorable extraction, and surfactant composition strongly influences protein solubilization.This work will demonstrate how RME can be a versatile method for extracting protein from complex plant by-products without defatting, producing colorless isolates. By highlighting the effectiveness of extraction, protein structure, techno-functional characteristics, and nutritional properties, this approach will provide a practical strategy for obtaining protein ingredients with fewer processing steps. This presentation will give the food industry actionable insights to advance plant protein extraction technologies.