Valorization of By-Products from Biofuel Biorefineries: Extraction and Purification of Bioactive Molecules from Post-Fermentation Corn Oil

The aim of this work was to develop innovative and sustainable extraction, concentration, and purification technologies aimed to recover target substances from corn oil, obtained as side stream product of biomass refineries. Residues of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, phytosterols, tocopherols, and polyphenols could be extracted from this matrix and applied as ingredients for food and feeds, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic products. These molecules are well known for their antioxidant and antiradical capacity, besides other specific biological activities, generically involved in the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases. The project involved the development of methods for the selective extraction of these minor components, using as suitable extraction technique solid phase extraction. All the extracted and purified fractions were evaluated by NMR spectroscopic analyses and UV–Vis spectrophotometric techniques and characterized by quali-quantitative HPLC analyses. TPC (total phenolic content) and TFC (total flavonoid content) were also determined. DPPH and ABTS radical were used to evaluate radical quenching abilities. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), amylase, glucosidase, and tyrosinase were selected as enzymes in the enzyme inhibitory assays. The obtained results showed the presence of a complex group of interesting molecules with strong potential in market applications according to circular economy principles.

Sustainable Horticultural Waste Management: Industrial and Environmental Perspective

Horticultural crops are highly nutritious and shared lion portion of our daily diet. These items are consumed in different ways according to their nature and processing processes. These days, a crucial concerning issue is arising globally to ensure nutrition security for huge population that leads to focus on production increase, quality improvement, food safety assurance, and processing strategies. Consequently, a large amount of waste generates in the processing industries, household kitchen, and supply chain of horticultural commodities that has led to a significant nutrition and economic loss, consequently creating environment pollution with extensive burden of landfills. However, these wastes showed magnificent potentiality of re-utilization in several industries owing to as rich source of different bioactive compounds and phytochemicals. Therefore, sustainable extraction methods and utilization strategies deserve the extensive investigations. This review paper extensively illustrates the horticultural waste generation options, sustainable recycling strategies, and potentiality of recycled products in different industries for betterment in population with the assurance of green environment and sustainable ecology.

Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Composition and Physicochemical Properties of the Mucilage Extracted from Fresh and Dehydrated Opuntia ficus indica Cladodes

The development of sustainable extraction methods to obtain natural products constitutes a challenge for the food industry. The aim of this work was to compare yield, separation efficiency, chemical composition, and physicochemical properties of the mucilage extracted from fresh cladodes (FNM) and mucilage extracted from dehydrated cladodes (DNM) of O. ficus indica. Suspensions of fresh and dehydrated cladodes (4% w/w) were prepared for mucilage extraction by using a mechanical separation process. Subsequently, the separated mucilage was precipitated with ethyl alcohol (1:2 v/v) then, yield and separation efficiency were determined. The mucilage was characterized by measuring Z potential, viscosity, color, and texture attributes. Additionally, chemical proximate analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted. No significant differences (p < 0.05) were detected in the yield and separation efficiencies between samples. Nevertheless, the dehydration process of cladodes prior to mucilage extraction increased protein, ashes, nitrogen free extract, and calcium content. The viscosity was higher in DNM than in FNM. The TGA revealed a different thermal behavior between samples. In addition, the DNM showed lower L (darkness/lightness), cohesiveness, adhesiveness, and springiness values than those of FNM. These results support that differences found between the chemical and physicochemical properties of DNM and those of FNM will determine the applications of the mucilage obtained from the O. ficus indica cladodes in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Latest Insights on Novel Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) for Sustainable Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Natural Sources

Phenolic compounds have long been of great importance in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. Unfortunately, conventional extraction procedures have a high cost and are time consuming, and the solvents used can represent a safety risk for operators, consumers, and the environment. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are green alternatives for extraction processes, given their low or non-toxicity, biodegradability, and reusability. This review discusses the latest research (in the last two years) employing DESs for phenolic extraction, solvent components, extraction yields, extraction method characteristics, and reviewing the phenolic sources (natural products, by-products, wastes, etc.). This work also analyzes and discusses the most relevant DES-based studies for phenolic extraction from natural sources, their extraction strategies using DESs, their molecular mechanisms, and potential applications.

Microwave-Assisted Solid Extraction from Natural Matrices

The extraction of secondary metabolites from plants, and natural sources in general, is a cornerstone in medicinal chemistry and required the development of sustainable extraction techniques. Microwave-Assisted Solid Extraction (MASE) is a promising extractive methodology being more effective than traditional extraction techniques. It offers higher and faster extraction performance ability with less solvent consumption and protection toward thermolabile constituents. For these reasons, MASE resulted in a suitable extractive methodology in all aspects, including economical and practical, compared to traditional extraction techniques, especially over Soxhlet or solid–liquid extraction. In this chapter, a brief theoretical background about the use of microwave energy for extraction has been presented for better understanding. Then, the potential of MASE for the extraction of secondary metabolites from natural resources, for evaluating the plant productivity and for evaluating the quality of the natural matrices will be reviewed. The discussion is supported by reporting recent applicative examples of MASE applied to the extraction of the most representative chemical classes of secondary metabolites, with a special focus on some drugs or compounds of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical interest.

Sustainable Extraction of Chitin from Spent Pupal Shell of Black Soldier Fly

Chitin and its deacetylated derivative chitosan are used for application in areas as an agriculture, biomedicine, cosmetic, food, textile and chelating agent for wastewater treatment. The current extraction of chitin is based on a chemical process using hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. The main disadvantage of the process is the generation of large volumes of acid and alkaline effluents, which require further treatment before release. Chitin was extracted from spent pupal shell of black soldier fly (BSF) by the microbial fermentation method using Bacillus lichenformis A6. The recovery rate of chitin content by the microbial fermentation method was found to be about 12.4%. The structures of BSF chitin and chitosan were further characterized by FTIR, XRD, and SEM. Our results showed that the chitin obtained from BSF was observed in α form. The crystalline index values of chitin and chitosan are 52.8% and 55.4%, respectively. The surface morphology was examined by SEM, revealing nanofiber structures. The spent pupal shell of BSF may be used as alternative chitin sources for various technological purposes.