Fruit Waste and Sugarcane Bagasse as Potential Natural Resources of Mineral and Lipophilic Substances

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to explore alternatives for using fruit waste and sugarcane bagasse as important sources for new products and potential applications in the food industry. Fast foods are part of modern life, as well as sources for producing biofuels based on biomass. The mineral content and compounds of nutritional interest, such as lipophilic substances, were determined in fruit waste (orange peels, passion fruit, bananas, grapes) and sugarcane bagasse. Significant differences were found in the samples tested, where minerals, such as potassium, nitrogen, zinc and iron, were found in fruit residues (bananas, oranges, passion fruit) and sugarcane bagasse. Banana residues were the most important source of minerals, followed by orange peels. Gas chromatography mass spectrography (GC-MS) analyses of the lipophilic fractions obtained from the plant residues revealed the presence of mostly saturated (palmitic, stearic) and unsaturated (oleic and linoleic) fatty acids, as well as other nutritionally valuable compounds, such as antioxidants (flavones in orange residues). The residues studied here can be used for future research to optimize pretreatment and hydrolysis of biomass for bioethanol production.