article · Frontiers in Food Science and Technology
Plant-based milk substitutes offer an alternative to animal dairy to address high dairy costs, support sustainable food systems, and provide suitable options for people with lactose intolerance. These substitutes can be produced from a wide range of edible plant materials, such as cereals, legumes, nuts, corms, roots, tubers, fruits, and vegetables. Beyond baseline nourishment, plant-based alternatives deliver essential nutrients and functional bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, flavones, anthocyanins, and bioactive peptides. These components are associated with potential health benefits, notably antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects. Research has also documented the sensory profiles of different plant-derived formulations, presenting an overview of their sources, production methods, and overall dietary attributes.
Rising dairy prices and widespread lactose intolerance make relying entirely on animal milk unsustainable for global nutrition. Plant-based milk substitutes widen access to affordable nourishment while delivering health-promoting compounds. Understanding their sources, nutritional value, and sensory appeal helps build more inclusive and resilient food systems.
This research informs food manufacturers and product developers seeking to formulate non-dairy beverages from accessible crops like cereals, legumes, and tubers. The focus on functional compounds suggests opportunities to market products with antidiabetic or antihypertensive claims. However, as this is a review synthesising existing knowledge on sources, production, and sensory qualities, it does not evaluate specific new processing pipelines or ready-to-market proprietary formulations.
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Over the years, humans and the dairy industry have depended mainly on animals, especially cattle, for their milk need. Whether for direct consumption or for the production of value-added dairy products, animal milk seems to be the gold standard, leading to a rise in its price. The exorbitant cost of dairy milk and products, coupled with the susceptibility of some consumers to lactose intolerance, necessitates finding non-dairy milk substitutes to meet human nutritional needs. Thus, to ensure a sustainable food system, in which milk is provided sufficiently and affordably for all, recent studies have demonstrated that plant-based milk substitutes (PBMS) can serve as an alternative to dairy milk in human nutrition. PBMS are prepared from different edible plant sources, including cereals, legumes, nuts, corms, roots and tubers, fruits, and vegetables. Studies have also shown that they are rich sources of nutrients and nutraceuticals, capable of nourishing the body and providing some health benefits. Bioactive compounds, including bioactive peptides, polyphenolics compounds, flavones, and anthocyanins have been reported in PBMS. These bioactive compounds are thought to confer certain health advantages, such as antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects. The sensory qualities of different PBMS have also been reported. The aim of this review was to discuss PBMS in human nutrition, emphasizing their sources, production, and nutritional, nutraceutical and sensory qualities.
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DOI: 10.3389/frfst.2025.1593870
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