Evaluation of the effect of smooth muscle cells on the quality of cultured meat in a model for cultured meat

Yan-YanZheng^aHao-ZheZhu^aZhong-YuanWu^aWen-JuanSong^aChang-BoTang^aChun-BaoLi^aShi-JieDing^aGuang-HongZhou^a

^a College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China

Highlights

• The purity of porcine smooth muscle cells obtained by explant techniques was high.
• Basic fibroblast growth factor can significantly stimulated the proliferation of smooth muscle cells and the gene expression of extracellular matrix.
• Smooth muscle cells secreted collagen during culture and affected the internal structure of the cultured meat model.
• The cultured meat model prepared by smooth muscle cells in the hydrogel has a good texture after 6 days culture.

Abstract

While the research on improving the meat quality of cultured meat is in full swing, few studies have focused on the effect of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) on the meat quality of cultured meat. Therefore, this study aimed at building a cultured meat model containing smooth muscle cells, and further evaluating the effect of smooth muscle cells on the quality of cultured meat, so as to reveal the contribution of smooth muscle cells in the production of cultured meat.

In this study, we isolated high purity of smooth muscle cells from vascular tissues. The addition of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to the medium significantly increased the growth rate of smooth muscle cells and the expression of extracellular matrix related genes, especially collagen and elastin. Smooth muscle cells were seeded in a collagen gel to construct a culture meat model.

It was found that the pressure loss of the model meat significantly decreased from 98.5 % in control group to 54 % with the extension of culture time for 9 days, while the total collagen content of model meat increased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the hydrogel tissue with smooth muscle cells compacted more dramatically and were more tightly, accompanied by significantly increased hardness, springiness and chewiness compared to the control one (P < 0.05). These results indicate that smooth muscle cells can secrete extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen, which can significantly enhance the texture of cultured meat models prepared by hydrogel.

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