Construction and deconstruction of protein-based extruded feeds

We are studying the impact of high legume protein enrichment on the structure of extruded feeds and the structural changes of starch (depolymerisation) and protein (aggregation) during melting by co-rotational twin-screw extrusion.

The structures of the extruded products are determined at different scales: density, cell structure, and the parietal material is considered to be a starch-protein composite. The rheology of the melt during extrusion is governed by the formulation and the structural transformation that occurs during processing. In addition, the rheology is strongly linked to the extrusion process and the structure and therefore to the usage properties of the extruded products.

We wish to show how a global extrusion model incorporating Ludovic® software, combined with a rheological model of the melt, can be used to predict the transformation of biopolymers, the structure and, if possible, the texture, functional and nutritional properties (chewability, digestibility) of extruded products.