What can I use instead of albumin for cooking, medicine, and research?

December 21, 2025 •

4 min read

The global albumin market was valued at $4.29 billion in 2018, highlighting its widespread use across industries. Whether for culinary, medical, or scientific purposes, there are many effective alternatives available if you need to know what can I use instead of albumin.

Quick Summary

This guide examines various albumin substitutes across baking, medicine, and biotechnology, detailing plant-based options like aquafaba and agar-agar, medical fluids such as crystalloids and synthetic colloids, and research alternatives like rapeseed and soy protein isolates.

Key Points

Culinary Foaming: Aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas, can be whipped into stiff peaks, making it an ideal substitute for egg whites in vegan meringues and mousses.
Binding in Baking: A flaxseed or chia seed 'egg,' created by soaking ground seeds in water, provides a gelatinous binding agent for recipes like pancakes and quick breads.
Medical Volume Expansion: For fluid resuscitation, crystalloids like saline or Ringer's lactate are often used as a cheaper alternative to albumin, although they require larger volumes.
Biotech Cost Reduction: Oilseed protein isolates (OPIs), like those from rapeseed or soy, offer a dramatically lower-cost, animal-free replacement for recombinant albumin in cell culture media.
Vegan Gelling: Agar-agar, a seaweed-derived gelatin, is a powerful plant-based gelling and thickening agent for desserts and jams.
Pharmaceutical Stabilization: Polysorbates are utilized as stabilizers in some biopharmaceutical drugs, serving as an alternative to human serum albumin for preventing product degradation.

Albumin Replacements in Cooking and Baking

For culinary applications, albumin, typically sourced from egg whites, provides essential functions like binding, leavening, and emulsifying. For those with allergies, following a vegan diet, or simply seeking an alternative, several effective replacements exist.

Plant-Based Egg White Alternatives

Aquafaba: The viscous liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas can be whipped into stiff peaks, making it a perfect substitute for egg whites in meringues, mousses, and other desserts. It acts as a binder and emulsifier, but should be used with caution in plain-flavored dishes as it can impart a slight legume taste.
Flaxseed or Chia Seed 'Egg': Created by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water, this mixture becomes a gelatinous binder ideal for pancakes, cookies, and quick breads. While excellent for binding, it does not provide the leavening properties of whipped egg whites.
Agar-Agar: A gelatinous substance derived from red algae, agar-agar is a vegan-friendly gelling agent. Unlike gelatin, it requires boiling to set and creates a firmer, less wobbly texture. It is a suitable alternative for gelling applications in desserts like panna cotta and cheesecakes, but it does not whip like egg whites.
Silken Tofu: The smooth, creamy texture of silken tofu makes it an excellent emulsifier and protein source in dishes like vegan mayonnaise, sauces, and mousses.
Mung Bean Protein: Specialized commercial products, like Fabumin, are derived from legume wastewater and mimic albumin's functional properties for binding, emulsifying, and foaming. Homemade versions, inspired by dishes like Moong Dal Chilla, can also be created by blending mung beans with plant milk and starch.

Medical Alternatives to Human Albumin

In clinical settings, human serum albumin is used for plasma volume expansion during trauma, surgery, or other conditions. However, concerns regarding cost, potential pathogen transmission, and efficacy in some cases have led to the exploration of alternatives.

Fluid Resuscitation Replacements

Crystalloids: These are saline-based solutions like 0.9% normal saline or Ringer's lactate. They are inexpensive and widely available, making them a first-line treatment for fluid resuscitation. However, larger volumes may be required, which can increase the risk of peripheral and pulmonary edema.
Hydroxyethyl Starches (HES): These synthetic colloids were historically used as plasma expanders. Due to associated risks of renal injury and mortality, they are now contraindicated for certain patients, such as those with sepsis or severe liver disease.
Polygeline (Hemaccel): A cheaper colloid alternative used for plasma volume expansion, particularly in cirrhotic patients undergoing paracentesis. Studies have shown it can be as effective as albumin in preventing hemodynamic disturbances.
Recombinant Human Albumin (rHA): A lab-grown, animal-free version of human albumin, rHA is structurally identical to the plasma-derived version. It eliminates the risk of human-derived pathogen transmission but remains expensive.

Alternatives in Biotechnology and Research

For the burgeoning cultured meat industry and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, finding cost-effective, non-animal-derived alternatives to expensive recombinant albumin is a critical hurdle.

Oilseed Protein Isolates (OPIs): Derived from agricultural waste products like rapeseed, soy, and cottonseed meal, OPIs offer a sustainable and significantly cheaper alternative to recombinant albumin in cell culture media. For example, rapeseed protein isolate (RPI) has shown comparable or enhanced performance to recombinant albumin for growing bovine muscle stem cells.
Methyl Cellulose and Corn Starch: These food-grade stabilizers can be used in combination to stabilize serum-free media, effectively substituting for albumin's role as a non-specific stabilizer. The approach drastically reduces costs, although cell-line specific optimization may be necessary.
Polysorbates: Increasingly used as an alternative excipient to human serum albumin in biopharmaceutical drugs. They act as stabilizers against surface adsorption, but their chemical heterogeneity requires careful formulation.

Comparison of Albumin Alternatives


Application	Alternative	Function	Pros	Cons
Cooking	Aquafaba	Foaming, emulsifying, binding	Excellent for meringues, vegan, low-cost	May leave a slight bean flavor
Cooking	Flax/Chia Egg	Binding	Easy to prepare, high in fiber and omega-3s	Does not leaven, visible seeds
Cooking	Agar-Agar	Gelling, thickening	Vegan, creates firmer gels, sets quickly	Requires boiling to activate, does not whip
Medicine	Crystalloids	Volume expansion	Very low cost, widely available	Requires larger volumes, can cause edema
Medicine	Polygeline	Volume expansion	Cheaper than albumin, effective	Allergic reactions possible, can interfere with blood tests
Research	Oilseed Protein Isolate	Cell growth promotion	Significantly lower cost, animal-free	Potential batch-to-batch variation, requires purification
Research	Methyl Cellulose	Stabilization, crowding	Food-grade, drastically reduces media cost	Requires specific formulation optimization

Conclusion

Albumin's diverse applications mean that finding an appropriate replacement depends entirely on the specific function required. In the culinary world, aquafaba and agar-agar offer effective vegan options for foaming and gelling, respectively, while flax and chia seeds are reliable binders. In medicine, cost-effective crystalloids or synthetic colloids like polygeline provide alternatives for fluid resuscitation, though patient conditions and risks must be considered. For biotechnology, sustainable and inexpensive oilseed protein isolates or food-grade stabilizers like methyl cellulose are revolutionizing the production of cell culture media and cultivated meat by reducing reliance on expensive recombinant proteins. The key is to match the substitute to the specific task, carefully considering its properties, cost, and any associated risks.

Learn more about alternative approaches for biomedical applications from research published on the National Institutes of Health website.

Frequently Asked Questions

The best alternative to egg white for meringues is aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas. When whipped, it can form stiff peaks that perfectly mimic the properties of egg whites for this purpose.

Agar-agar can replace albumin for gelling and thickening purposes, such as in vegan cheesecakes or custards. However, it cannot be used as a direct substitute for the foaming and leavening functions of egg white albumin in applications like meringues.

Yes, common alternatives for fluid resuscitation include crystalloid solutions like saline and Ringer's lactate. For specific conditions like paracentesis in cirrhosis, polygeline may also be used.

For serum-free cell culture media, alternatives to expensive recombinant albumin include cost-effective oilseed protein isolates (OPIs) from rapeseed or soy, and food-grade stabilizers like methyl cellulose and corn starch.

To make a flaxseed egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water. Mix well and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it thickens into a gelatinous consistency.

Recombinant human albumin (rHA) is a valid alternative to plasma-derived albumin, offering the advantage of being animal-free and eliminating the risk of human-derived pathogen transmission. It is structurally equivalent but can be very expensive.

Human albumin is primarily responsible for maintaining oncotic pressure in the blood, transporting various substances like fatty acids and hormones, and stabilizing blood volume.