3D printing of plant tissue for innovative food manufacturing: Encapsulation of alive plant cells into pectin based bio-ink

3D food printing allows creation of foods by depositing food material according to computer aided designs. However, the number of printable materials for food is still low which limits the possibilities of creating specific structures and textures. A novel approach is tested of using food printing materials incorporating plant cells in order to print foods that resemble plant tissues in various ways. A 3D printing method was developed based on the extrusion of bio-inks composed of a low-methoxylated pectin gel and embedded lettuce leaf cells. Bovine serum albumin was added in order to increase the air fraction in the printed gel matrix. Objects containing up to 5 x 10(6) cells/mL were successfully 3D printed. The mechanical strength increased by the pectin concentration and decreased with the increase of air fraction and concentration of encapsulated cells. The viability of the encapsulated plant cells depended on the pectin concentration and varied from 50 to 60%. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.