Meat the Fat: From High Lipid Content to Nutritional Enhancement to Reconstruct Wagyu Fat with Tunable Rheology and Organoleptic Fidelity for Cultivated Meat

ABSTRACT Cultivated meat holds promise as a sustainable and ethical alternative to conventional meat, but reproducing the rich flavor, texture, and lipid composition of premium beef, such as Wagyu, remains a major hurdle. In this study, we redefine bovine adipogenesis by systematically optimizing edible biomaterials, fatty acid delivery systems, and culture conditions to engineer high-fat cultivated tissues with authentic sensory properties. Among various candidates, 1% alginate emerged as the optimal scaffold, providing mechanical softness compatible with adipogenic differentiation and mimicking the rheological properties of native fat. Supplementation with oleic acid complexed to edible albumins, especially whey protein (WP), significantly enhanced lipid accumulation and monounsaturated fatty acid content, particularly oleic acid, which reached up to 80.6% of total fatty acids. Engineered fat tissues displayed soft, spreadable textures and organoleptic characteristics consistent with high-quality beef fat. Fatty acid profiling revealed a bovine-like omega-6 signature, dominated by linoleic, arachidonic, and dihomo-γ-linolenic acids, alongside detectable omega-3 subtypes including alpha-linolenic acid and trace levels of EPA and DHA. This composition not only validates the physiological relevance of the engineered fat, but also highlights its potential to deliver bioactive lipids rarely found in terrestrial animal products. Additionally, the WP-oleic acid system supported robust adipogenesis even under lower serum conditions. These findings establish a food-grade, tunable platform for producing physiologically and nutritionally enhanced fat tissues, advancing the realism, functionality, and health potential of next-generation cultivated meat.