Peanut as a source of sustainable vegetable protein-processes and applications

Authors: Dean, Lisa

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2023
Publication Date: 11/17/2023
Citation: Dean, L.L. 2023. Peanut as a source of sustainable vegetable protein-processes and applications. In: Nadathur, S., Wanasundara, J. P. D., Scanlin, L., editors.Sustainable Protein Sources Advances for a Healthier Tomorrow. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier. Chapter 15. p. 311-322.

Interpretive Summary: Foods from animal sources provide high quality protein to people all over the world. The high cost of the protein is due to the need to feed, house, transport and process the animals. This uses up valuable resources and is not feasible in some areas due to limited energy, land and water. Plant foods are a more sustainable source of protein for human nutrition. This book describes a range of plants sources for human consumption and emphasizes the greater sustainability of them. The chapter on peanuts describes how peanuts are cultivated and compares their more economical and earth friendly growth habits with other plant and animal sources of protein nutrition. Growing peanuts adds nitrogen back to the soil reducing the need for added fertilizers and requires less water for growth than related crops such as tree nuts. Peanut is a high quality protein and the levels are some of the highest of plant foods (25% compared to about 10% in grains). In some areas of the world, peanuts are crushed for cooking oil, leaving a large amount of the high quality protein available for other uses. Peanut protein can be processed into a range of other products that can be used to fortify food products, animal feed and non food uses such as films and encapsulation agents. Care needs to be taken to label processed products correctly to allow individuals with peanut allergies to avoid them, but peanut protein is a valuable and sustainable nutritional asset.

Technical Abstract: The peanut crop is produced in semitropical regions all around the globe. The resulting seeds are harvested and processed into a range of consumer products including edible oil, peanut butter, and roasted peanut snacks. The unused vegetation can serve as high quality animal feed and the processing waste such as hulls and skins can be composted for soil enrichment, used as biomass fuel, or further processed to recover the bioactive compounds such as small molecule phenolics with antioxidant activity. Most importantly, the peanut is a source of high-quality protein from a plant that is considered highly sustainable. Low water usage, the ability to grow in semi-arid conditions and soil nitrogen fixation characteristics make it a valuable crop to grow in rotation with more soil depleting grain crops. Large amounts of peanut protein rich material are available after processing of peanuts for edible oil. In addition to the nutritional characteristics that make it valuable for both human food and animal feed products, the functionality of the peanut protein itself makes it a valuable ingredient for both food and nonfood applications. These characteristics of peanut protein as a sustainable source are discussed in this chapter.