Non-thermal processing technologies for the recovery of bioactive compounds from marine by-products

Abstract

Marine products are important food resources for humans, as they contain high-quality protein as well as nutrients. With the rapid development of the marine food industry, large amounts of by-products are produced, underutilized, and even cause serious environmental problems. Marine by-products consist of the head, viscera, skin, blood, and bones, containing many nutritious biomolecules, such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipids, and carotenoids. These bio compounds have potential applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food industries. Thus, the recovery of bioactive compounds from marine by-products through non-thermal processing methods, including pulsed electric field (PEF), dense phase carbon dioxide (DPCD), high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), membrane technology, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and enzyme-assisted extraction methods, was discussed. The non-thermal technologies showed more promising results for recovering bioactive compounds from marine by-products than conventional methods considering the yield and quality in terms of energy and time costs, so these non-thermal technologies could also improve food security and reduce associated environmental problems. However, these emerging non-thermal technologies are still in the development stage, and broad industrial applications require more studies and practical industrial transfer to establish specific processing methods for obtaining certain bioactive compounds from marine by-products.