VSU food researcher Dr. Yixiang Xu awarded $274,500 NIFA-AFRI Grant to explore a new way to process hemp protein as a food source

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2022

Contact: Michelle Burchett, Content Manager/Writer & Editor, 804-524-6966, mburchett@vsu.edu

ETTRICK, Va.— Hemp protein is highly nutritious and digestible with 20 amino acids and up to 98 percent digestibility, which enables the body to use these building blocks to repair and maintain cells more effectively. It has nine essential fatty acids, which are diet dependent. The body cannot make them, despite their importance in physiological processes. Not only are they important in cell maintenance, and cardiovascular health, but also in regulating metabolic and inflammatory processes, as well as brain development and function.

With few exceptions, hemp protein supplies significantly more amino acids than soy and dairy proteins. Yet, to date, hemp has not responded well to processing methods for its production as a food source. Researchers hope to solve that problem with a new processing method called high-pressure processing (HPP).

To explore the effects of HPP on hemp protein for use in plant-based food, Dr. Yixiang Xu, a food scientist at Virginia State University’s Agricultural Research Station, was awarded a $274,500 grant by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (NIFA-AFRI). Together with Dr. GuiBing Chen, a food engineer at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Xu will investigate how HPP affects the taste, nutrition and other key qualities of hemp protein. 

With increasing demand for plant-based proteins, this research could prove invaluable with broad benefits for hemp growers, manufacturers, and other industries, and for consumers. The grant will support the project through 2023 and will provide students with research-based learning opportunities, as well.

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NIFA   National Institute of Food and Agriculture

AFRI    Agriculture and Food Research Initiative