There is a common weed plant called Bidens Pilosa, aka “hairy beggarticks,” that can be found around the world. The invasive species originated in America. In Russia, it’s found in the Far East, which is where a team of Russian scientists at South Ural State University (SUSU) gathered samples, then used it to make cheese and wine. To be precise, the scientists used a leaf extract from the flower of the plant to break down proteins, a part of the cheese and winemaking process. They say it has excellent potential to be a new plant-based tool for the food processing industry.
The study is part of the work of the international laboratory for the synthesis and analysis of food ingredients, headed by Shirish Sonawane, professor of the National Institute of Technology in Warangal (India), which is dedicated to helping develop technologies that synthesize edible biopolymers.
The Bidens Pilosa leaf extract contains enzymes that accelerate the breakdown of proteins. It is a cheaper plant-based alternative to expensive enzymes currently used in the food industry. It is also suitable for obtaining various biologically active compounds, such as tyrosine, which is in the proteins of all living organisms. Tyrosine was first isolated from cheese back in 1846. So, the weed is not a replacement for grapes or milk; it’s an ingredient used to transform the grapes into wine or the milk into cheese.
Irina Porotoko, the head of the Department of Food Technology and Biotechnology at SUSU, said in a press release:
There is a long tradition of using Bidens Pilosa as a medicine. Due to its prevalence, its use, in our opinion, is extremely beneficial in winemaking and milk processing, where the Bidens Pilosa extract can become an alternative to many food animal enzymes.
It was proved that fresh leaves of a weed have high protease activity in an acidic buffer pH 4 (8.2567 × 10-7 mM/mg/min) compared to an alkaline buffer pH 10 (5.15 × 10- 7 mM/mg/min) at 30 degrees Celsius. We were able to determine the optimal conditions for the enzymatic activity of the leaf extract, which makes it possible to use in various technological processes.
The next part of the study will involve testing the other parts of the plant (roots, flowers, and stems) to see if they have higher protease activity than the leaves. The researchers also intend to study the mechanism of encapsulation, transportation, and release of the extract. The goal is to increase the efficiency of the fermentation processes.
