Cottonseed is a sustainable source of plant protein, producing ~10 million metric tons of protein globally. This protein has the potential to fulfil the annual protein requirement of more than half a billion people globally. Its functional properties have established the potential of cottonseed protein (CSP) as a candidate for alleviating malnutrition in the Asian and African continents. Regardless of these quality attributes, the inherent association of gossypol with CSP makes it unsuitable for direct human consumption due to its toxicity.
Kumar, M., Tomar, M., Punia, S., Grasso, S., Arrutia, F., Choudhary, J., Singh, S., Verma, P., Mahapatra, A., Patil, S., Radha, Dhumal, S., Potkule, J., Saxena, S., & Amarowicz, R. (2021). Cottonseed: A sustainable contributor to global protein requirements. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 111, 100-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.02.058 (Original work published 2021)