Abstract

Demand for sustainable protein-rich food sources is currently increasing to meet the nutritional requirements of a growing population, while also considering climate challenges. A commonly presented way of mitigating these challenges is to shift from consumption of animal proteins to plant proteins, while another route is to reduce the amount of under-exploited biomass in the agricultural system. Using green leafy biomass (GLBM), especially biomass types not currently utilised as food, as a protein source has the potential to form part of both these mitigation routes. Green leaves are one of the most widely available types of agricultural biomass globally in terms of both main crops and side-stream materials. Their high abundance makes GLBM interesting as a resource, for example as a raw material in a fractionation process. GLBM contains high levels of potentially valuable and obtainable constituents. The main purpose of this project proposal is to evaluate GLBM by applying a biorefinery approach targeting such components, to learn the processes of the transition process of stabilized products from university laboratory scale to pilot scale industrial production and to obtain high value-added products, and to investigate the effects of using them in agricultural product cultivation as a biostimulant at the end of the processes. The main goal for this purpose is to obtain information about the feasibility and sustainability of all processes, to evaluate existing operating procedures and infrastructures, and to set an exemplary role model for our country about new systems. The project proposal consists of three work packages. Sugar beet will be selected for protein fractionation. Fractionation procedure; It will consist of three steps: screw pressing, thermal and acid precipitation. Dry matter determination and nitrogen content determination will be performed for the products obtained as a result of the procedures applied to GLBM products. In addition, the efficiency of the products in RuBisCO adsorption will be followed by SDS-PAGE analysis. After the protein extraction process is complete, a protein-based juice called “Brown Juice” (BJ) will be obtained. The resulting “BJ” will be subjected to lactic acid fermentation. The effect of fermented “BJ” as a biostimulant on physiological and agronomic parameters on wheat will be investigated. With the data obtained from the project, it is aimed to be published as an article in the journals included in the Science Citation Index. If the project is carried out successfully, the researcher will have the opportunity to publish qualified academic publications, to train new young researchers, to produce new projects, to create networks with scientists at international level, and to be used in different science/technology fields. The results of the research will be shared with all sector partners. In this respect, it is thought that the research will create an important multiplier effect. The research will be carried out with Prof. Dr. Eva Johansson in the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). SLU is a goverment university with extensive research in the environment and life sciences, as well as research the sustainable use of natural resources. The opportunities to use plant proteins in a variety of applications and their behavior during processing have been of particular interest to Prof. Johansson. In total, 7217 citations were made to 341 articles. Prof Johansson's H-index is 49. Considering the brilliant research experience of both the supervisor and the university the superior equipment required for the analyzes planned for this study, the chosen place was the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.