ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

Cultured meat offers a promising alternative to conventional meat, but its commercial viability depends on replacing costly components, such as media supplements and scaffolds. Eggs are nutrient-rich products with established roles in both food and biotechnology, yet they remain an underexplored source of bioactive supplements and biomaterials for cultured meat production. Because unfertilized eggs can be collected without harming animals, they represent an ethical and sustainable source of animal-derived bioactive compounds that can also be recovered as agricultural waste by-products. This review examines the potential of individual egg components (egg white, yolk, and eggshell membrane) to support muscle and fat cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue structuring. Research findings suggest that yolk-derived proteins and lipids enhance adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation, while egg white proteins, such as ovalbumin and ovomucoid, especially in hydrolyzed form, promote both myogenesis and adipogenesis. The eggshell membrane, rich in extracellular matrix components such as collagen and glycoproteins, may serve as a food-safe, natural scaffold to support cell adhesion and organization. However, eggs are inherently heterogeneous and contain components such as vitamin-binding proteins that may limit cell growth, and allergenic proteins that pose challenges for downstream food safety regulation. As a result, effective application of egg-derived materials in cultured meat will likely require some degree of processing and standardization.

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