ELECTROSPUN COMPOSITES CARRYING POSTBIOTICS AND SPIRULINA BIOMASS IN A MEAT-FREE DELI HAM ANALOGUE: IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY

The development of meat analogs remains a major challenge in mimicking texture due to the complexity of muscle tissue architecture. Reproducing meat-like fibrous structures has become a central objective in designing next-generation meat alternatives. More broadly, nutritional quality and the addition of bioactive compounds remain challenges to overcome. Simulated in vitro digestion can provide information regarding how bioactive delivery systems can behave in meat analog products. Thus, this study investigated the production of a meat analog product and the application of electrospun composites based on zein, Spirulina, and Spirupower^® biomass containing lactic acid bacteria (LAB)-derived microbial cell lysates as technofunctional postbiotics in a meat-free deli ham analog. The resulting electrospun composites were incorporated into meat-free deli ham formulations, and their effects on texture, protein bioaccessibility, and antioxidant activity before and after simulated gastrointestinal digestion were assessed. The incorporation of postbiotic-containing electrospun composites modified the rheological behavior of the dispersions while maintaining electrospinnability and significantly reduced (p < 0.05),  product toughness from 29.38 Ns (control) to 18.80–20.20 N.s (postbiotic and SP or SPW formulations) without affecting cooking yield (94–96%), or protein bioaccessibility (97.5–98.3%). All formulations showed increased antioxidant activity (p < 0.05) after the INFOGEST bioaccessibility protocol. SPW exhibited antioxidant performance comparable to that of SP after digestion, reaching 4.09 ± 0.25 and 4.30 ± 0.40 µmol TE/g (FRAP method), respectively. These findings demonstrate that electrospinning is a promising strategy for incorporating postbiotics and SP or SPW into meat analogs.

Acknowledgments: This study was financed, in part, by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazil, process n° 2024/19218-0 and 2023/00857-0. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) grant number 405238/2025-8, and A.R.C.B (PQ 305518/2024-0) acknowledges the research productivity fellowship from CNPq.