Bioactive compounds from vegetable and fruit by-products

Abstract

The vegetable and fruit processing industry produces millions of tons of by-products such us peels, seeds, stones, residual pulp, and discarded pieces that generate important environmental management problems for the industry. Traditional methods of disposal of by-products, animal feed, soil fertilizers, and/or biofuels do not provide the industry with the sufficient economic incentive to increase their competitiveness and resolve environmental problems, which is aggravated by legal restrictions. Furthermore, the reuse of vegetable and fruit by-products to obtain biologically active phytochemicals (phenolic compounds, carotenoids, minerals, dietary fiber, etc.), which can be used as natural functional ingredients that include antitumoral, antibacterial, cardioprotective, and antimutagenic activities, could be a solution to the economic and environmental problems involved in removing vegetable and fruit processing waste. Moreover, the use of vegetable and fruit processing by-products as a source for obtaining phytochemicals, which can be used in the design of new functional foods, is a topic of great interest today.