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Biomanufacturing

Biomanufacturing - Poster Session D

Poster B2 - Lab Grown Meatballs: An Accessible and Effective Path Forward for Cellular Agriculture

Friday, October 25, 2024
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction:  The conventional animal agriculture industry struggles to meet the needs of worldwide food production. In response to this problem, investigation into alternative agriculture methods such as lab grown meat (cellular agriculture) has become increasingly popular. Decellularized plants have been shown to provide a viable scaffold for cultivating muscle cells for cellular agriculture. One major problem facing “lab-grown meat” is its efficiency and comparability to conventional meat. A method to produce cultured meat that mimics conventional meat was developed by combining decellularized broccoli florets seeded with QM7 cells, pea protein, beet root extract, and transglutaminase.

Materials and

Methods:  QM7 cells (a quail myoblast cell line) in QM7 Growth Media (DMEM-F12, 10% FBS, 1% Penicillin) were seeded onto broccoli florets that had been decellularized in 0.5 g/L SDS and 5% (v/v) bleach. Decellularization of the broccoli florets was confirmed using a CyQUANT DNA Assay. QM7 cell seeding efficiency was analyzed using ImageJ cell count analysis on florets 24 hours after seeding that were dyed with Hoechst stain and imaged on the BioTek Cytation 1. These “recellularized” broccoli florets were then mixed with pea protein, beet root extract, transglutaminase, and water to form a lab grown “meatball.” All samples were compared to meatballs made of raw ground beef. Compression Testing was used to compare meatball stiffness. Stiffness was calculated by taking the derivative of force vs displacement graphs using an Instron 6800 universal testing machine. Color comparison was done using ImageJ.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: 

Results: CyQUANT - Fresh broccoli floret samples had 0.582 ug/mL of DNA on average and decellularized broccoli samples had 0.003 ug/mL of DNA on average. Seeding Efficiency - Florets seeded with 6,000,000 QM7 cells, 43.75% had >100 cells, 43.75% had 30>100 cells, and 12.5% had < 30 cells. Meatball production - The meatballs produced had an average diameter of 10.5 mm and weighed approximately 1.54 g on average. Compression Testing - Fabricated meatballs made with 1.00 g broccoli florets, 0.25 g pea protein, and 0.100 g of transglutaminase had an average stiffness of 0.0581 N/m while conventional meat had an average stiffness of 0.0548 N/m. Color Comparison: Fabricated meatballs made with 0.015 beet root extract had RGB values of R: 188.0, G: 100.2 and B: 103.84 while conventional meatballs had RGB values of R: 190.88, G: 101.5, and B: 92.04

Conclusions: These results indicate that lab grown meatballs made of recellularized broccoli florets, pea protein, beet root extract, and transglutaminase can mimic both the mechanical and visual aspects of conventional meatballs. Decellularized broccoli florets are an edible and cost-effective scaffold for cellular agriculture, and when seeded with QM7 cells can be used to fabricate a meatball that mimics a conventional meatball. In future studies, we hope to test additional cell types used in cellular agriculture, including bovine satellite cells. Furthermore, we plan to quantify the nutritional profile in lab grown meatballs and vegan or vegetarian alternatives already available.

Acknowledgements (Optional):