Cysteine, sodium metabisulfite, and glutathione enhance crosslinking between proteins during high moisture meat analog extrusion processing and may improve the fibrousness of the products.

In the presence of reducing agents, it is believed that disulfide bonds are split earlier during the process without binding to them, giving the protein strands more time to unravel and align, leading to a better flow behavior and more fibrous products. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.