Issue 6, 2020

Agriculture waste valorisation as a source of antioxidant phenolic compounds within a circular and sustainable bioeconomy

Abstract

Planet globalization, population growth and its consequent need to produce large amounts of food, or individual economic benefits and the prioritization of this over environment health, are factors that that have contributed to the development, in some cases, of a linear-producing modern agricultural system. In contrast to traditional and local agriculture, which was based on circular sustainability models, modern agriculture currently produces tons of waste that is accumulated in landfill, creating controversial consequences, instead of being reintroduced into the production chain with a novel purpose. However, these residues from agriculture are rich in bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds, secondary metabolites that are found naturally in plants, which show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and anticancer capacities, among others. Although there are several suitable extractive techniques for isolating these beneficial compounds from agricultural by-products, their industrial application remains without real application value at the industrial scale. The recovery of functional phenolic compounds can be achieved, obtaining products that can be reinserted into the economy as a new raw material. The re-utilization of these compounds not only represents numerous potential applications, such as food and feed additives, functional foods, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and so forth, but also represents a favourable measure for the environment, and results in the formation of value-added products. This review summarizes all of the aspects that lead to phenolic compound recovery from agricultural wastes generated in the agro-food industries, and their potential applications within a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.

Graphical abstract: Agriculture waste valorisation as a source of antioxidant phenolic compounds within a circular and sustainable bioeconomy

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
10 Apr 2020
Accepted
12 May 2020
First published
12 May 2020

Food Funct., 2020,11, 4853-4877

Agriculture waste valorisation as a source of antioxidant phenolic compounds within a circular and sustainable bioeconomy

C. Jimenez-Lopez, M. Fraga-Corral, M. Carpena, P. García-Oliveira, J. Echave, A. G. Pereira, C. Lourenço-Lopes, M. A. Prieto and J. Simal-Gandara, Food Funct., 2020, 11, 4853 DOI: 10.1039/D0FO00937G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements