Food Processing By-Products as Natural Sources of Antioxidants: A Mini Review

Abstract

The growing interest in the replacement of synthetic food antioxidants has led to multiple investigations in the field of naturally-sourced antioxidants. The search for cost-efficient natural antioxidants has led to the exploration with raw materials of residual origin. The present review starts with an introduction of lipid oxidation and the antioxidant mechanisms, as well as the most recent research on the recovery and utilization of food processing wastes. Most studies found high levels of compounds with antioxidant activities in waste materials, encompassing a wide category of fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers, grains and seeds; a majority of these natural materials contains phenolic acids and flavonoids. Also, the levels of actives in the wastes are usually found to be higher than the actual products. Gaps in the area of by-products research as well as constraints of waste exploitation are also discussed.