The effect of mycoprotein intake on biomarkers of human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Mycoprotein is a fungal source of protein that is increasingly consumed as an ingredient in meat analogs. Objectives: This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of mycoprotein intake on selected biomarkers of human health. Methods: This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022308980). We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases to identify ran-domized control trials in any language until 16 August, 2022. Trials were included if they administered a mycoprotein intervention against a non-mycoprotein control arm and if reported outcomes included blood lipids, blood glucose, insulin, blood pressure, or body weight. Eligible trials were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. An inverse-variance-weighted, random-effects meta-analysis model was used to assess the effects of intake across each biomarker. Results: Nine trials that included 178 participants with a mean follow-up of 13 d were included, with 4 reporting on blood lipids and 5 reporting on postprandial blood glucose or insulin. The overall reduction of total cholesterol was -0.55 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.85 to -0.26; P < 0.001) in the mycoprotein group compared to control, but no clear effects on HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or TGs were found (all P > 0.05). There were no reductions in postprandial blood glucose concentrations at 30, 60, 90 or 120 min. Postprandial blood insulin concentration was reduced by -76.51 pmol/ L (95% CI: -150.75 to -2.28; P = 0.043) at 30 min, with no detectable effects at 60, 90, or 120 min. Conclusions: Mycoprotein intake may have important effects on blood lipids, but the evidence base is limited by the small sample sizes and short intervention periods of the contributing trials. The protocol for this systematic review has been registered in PROSPERO as CRD42022308980.

Automated summary

This study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the effects of mycoprotein intake on selected biomarkers of human health. The results suggest that mycoprotein intake may have important effects on blood lipids, but the evidence base is limited by small sample sizes and short intervention periods.