Increasing the sustainability of food chain by obtaining bioactive substances from agrofood industry residues
Mentor: Maria Luisa Marina Alegre
Email: mluisa.marina@uah.es
Phone: (+34) 918854935
University: Universidad de Alcalá
Partner Host Institution: N.A
Keywords: sustainability, agrofood industry residues, bioactive substances

Increasing the sustainability of food chain by obtaining bioactive substances from agrofood industry residues

Food processing activities in Europe produce large amounts of byproducts and waste. The removal of these residues causes environmental problems that are heterogeneous due to the large variety of different waste materials produced by different sources. Such waste is only partially valorized at different levels (spread on land, animal feed, composting). However, the waste of these residues constitutes a loss of resources since they contain valuable substances. Vegetable and fruits processing byproducts and waste might provide value-added natural bioactive substances with a variety of activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic or antiproliferative activities, among others, these compounds having a high interest for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. The development of strategies enabling the revalorization and reusing of agrofood industry residues to obtain bioactive substances will contribute to the sustainability of the food chain and to the implementation of the so-called clean technologies or waste-free technologies.

Departament: Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering
Research Group: (Micro)-Separation Techniques
More Information: http://www3.uah.es/Micro-Separation-Techniques
https://portal.uah.es/portal/page/portal/epd2_profesores/prof121391
Relevants projects on the area: Integrated strategies for the improvement of food quality, safety and functionality. Towards a healthier diet (AVANSECAL-II-CM, ref. S2018/BAA-4393). Comunity of Madrid and european funding from FSE and FEDER programs (From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022). Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Maria Luisa Marina Alegre.
Relevants publications on the area: 1.- M.C. García, E. González-García, R. Vásquez-Villanueva, M.L. Marina. Apricot and other seed stones: amygdalin content and potential to obtain antioxidant, angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor and hypocholesterolemic peptides. Food & Function, 7 (2016) 4693-4701.
2.- E. Hernández-Corroto, M. L. Marina, M. C. García. Multiple protective effect of peptides released from Olea Europaea and Prunus Persica seeds against oxidative damage and cancer cell proliferation. Food Research International, 106 (2018) 458-467.