One of the most interesting areas of research, in agribusiness innovation, concerns the possibility of extracting high-value phytocompounds from parts of fruits and vegetables and by-products of their traditional processing.
Phytochemicals and phenolic compounds
Phytocompounds-or bioactive compounds-include a wide range of substances, naturally contained in plants, to which scientific research has attributed the ability to modulate biological activities and functions of the body. They include prebiotic fibers and plant sterols, phenolic and sulfur compounds, carotenoids, among others.
Plant phenolic compounds are of growing and considerable interest in the field of human nutrition (Parisi 2019-2020). All the more so in the Covid-19 era, when attention focused on the relationship between diet and the immune system (Parisi and Dongo 2020). These substances have antimicrobial properties-also of interest in food technology (Quartaroli 2019), as an alternative to chemically synthesized additives (Barbieri et al. 2019)-as well as antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Properties generally attributed to their nature as antioxidant agents (Laganà et al. 2020).
The increasing average age of consumers, in Europe and Japan especially, may in turn explain the growing trend in demand for naturally derived polyphenols (Palestini et al. 2020). A demand that is perhaps difficult to meet without taking into account the possible use of food industry waste for extraction purposes (Ameer et al. 2017).
Phytocompounds from fruit and vegetable waste
The possibility of obtaining polyphenols and pigments in significant quantities from production waste-such as parts of flowers as well as peels and residues from fruit juice productions-appears very promising (Natural Theater 2020). With important spin-offs on both fronts of:
– economy. Nutraceutical active ingredients (Dongo et al. 2020) and functional plant extracts can add value to typically low-margin supply chains,
– circular economy, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (
Sustainable Development Goals
, SDGs) in UN Agenda 2030.
Scraps of fruits grown in temperate (e.g., blueberries, persimmons, pomegranates) and ‘border’ (e.g., mango, avocado, and papaya, also grown in Sicily) or subtropical (e.g., blueberries, persimmons, pomegranates) or subtropical (e.g., mangoes, avocados, and papayas, also grown in Sicily) areas. pineapple and longan, of the Sapindaceae family to which the better-known lychee belongs) deserve attention in two respects:
– The amounts of extractable (and intact) antioxidants,
– the significant share of edible part (Ayala-Zavala et al. 2011, Tange et al. 2019).
In the cases of mango, papaya and pineapple, for example, the part ‘discarded’ from the primary processing varies between 10 and 60 percent of the total raw materials. And yet it contains more antioxidants than those in the final product (Ayala-Zavalaet al. 2011).
Olive oil and wine productions in turn, albeit at lower yield levels, residue water with significant amounts of polyphenolic compounds. Therefore, an interesting prospect of research and development aimed at enhancing the value of by-products (Barbera 2020) is also on the horizon in these supply chains.
Extraction techniques and research horizons
The most innovative green techniques-supercritical fluid extraction, including microwave-assisted or pressure-assisted extraction, to name a few-have so far proved promising in comparison with conventional extraction techniques for polyphenols. The benefits-already inherent in the reuse of food waste-can be evaluated in terms of reduced time, solvents used and energy required. As well as reproducibility of yields, resulting in lower operating costs (Ameer et al. 2017).
The environmental sustainability of processes with reduced carbon dioxide emissions that do not use (or use to a reduced extent) toxic solvents is all the more reason to devote resources to research in these areas. Not to mention that the efficiency of extraction equipment and the yields obtained (in terms of even extraction kinetics) depend greatly on the nature of the plant and fruit matrices, as well as the identity of the target molecules to be extracted.
Thus, research is moving toward the kinetic study of extraction in the different cases but also-no less importantly-to downsizing pilot mining plants to a size that makes them competitive in terms of regime and efficiency.
Salvatore Parisi*, Suni Mary Varghese*, Dario Dongo
(*) Lourdes Matha Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (LMIHMCT), Kuttichal, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
Notes
– Salvatore Parisi, Dario Dongo (2020) Polyphenols and health. Immune system friendly vegetables. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). https://www. greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/polifenoli-e-salute-i-vegetali-amici-del-sistema-immunitario
– Parisi S (2020). Characterization of Major Phenolic Compounds in Selected Foods from Technological and Health Promotion Viewpoints. J AOAC Int 103, 4: 904-905. doi: 10.1093/jaoacint/qsaa011
– Galiano Quartaroli (2019). Antimicrobials from plant waste, University of Parma patent. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/tecnologia-alimentare/antimicrobici-da-scarti-vegetali-brevetto-università-di-parma
– Barbieri G, Bergamaschi M, Saccani G, Caruso G, Santangelo A, Tulumello R, Vibhute B, Barbieri G (2019). Processed Meat and Polyphenols: Opportunities, Advantages, and Difficulties. J AOAC J 102 (5): 1401-1406
– Paola Palestini, Dario Dongo (2020). Coronavirus and infections, how to strengthen the defenses of the over-65s with a good diet. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/coronavirus-e-infezioni-come-rafforzare-le-difese-degli-over-65-con-una-buona-dieta
– Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Dalla Penna (2020). Nutraceuticals. One, none and a hundred thousand. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/nutraceutica-uno-nessuno-e-centomila
– Ameer K., Shahbaz HM, Kwon JH (2017) Green extraction methods for polyphenols from plant matrices and their byproducts: A review . Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 16, 2:295-315
– Ayala-Zavala J, Vega-Vega V, Rosas-Domínguez C, Palafox-Carlos H, Villa-Rodriguez JA, Siddiqui M, Dávila-Aviña WJE, González-Aguilar GA (2011). Agro-industrial potential of exotic fruit byproducts as a source of food additives. Food Research International 44, 7:1866-1874
– Bio and Nature (2020).
Blueberry and persimmon by-products useful for gut microbiota wellness.
. Natural Theater,
– Lagana P, Coniglio MA, Fiorino M, Delgado AM, Chammen N, Issaoui M, Gambuzza ME, Iommi C, Soraci L, Haddad MA, Delia, S. (2020). Phenolic Substances in Foods and Anticarcinogenic Properties: A Public Health Perspective. Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL 103, 4:935-939. doi: 10.1093/jaocint/qsz028
– Parisi S (2019). Analysis of Major Phenolic Compounds in Foods and Their Health Effects. J. AOAC Int 102:1354-1355. doi:10.5740/ jaoacint.19-0127
– Tang, YY, He XM, Sun J, Li CB, Li L, Sheng JF, Xin M, Li ZC, Zheng FJ, Liu GM, Li, J. M. (2019). Polyphenols and alkaloids in byproducts of Longan fruits (Dimocarpus Longan Lour.) and their bioactivities. Molecules 24, 6:1186-1202. doi:10.3390/molecules24061186
He has been dealing with chemistry and food, packaging and quality for over 20 years. 'Visiting Assistant Professor' at Al-Balqa Applied University (Jordan), as well as 'Expert Review Panelist' in the working groups of AOAC International (USA) and 'Series Editor' for the series 'SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science: Chemistry of Foods'
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
