Abstract
PurposeThe food and starch industries generate large quantities of potato peel waste (PPW) that can be exploited for a range of biotechnological and biofuel applications. The purpose of this study was to characterise the ultrastructure and monosaccharide composition of PPW.MethodsThe ultrastructure of PPW was observed using light and immunofluorescence microscopy. Fibre was prepared from PPW using mild detergent and subjected to sequential acid hydrolysis followed by high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD).ResultsPotato peels are composed of small, stacked cells which generally lack starch granules. These cells are surrounded by thick cell walls rich in pectic polysaccharides. Following sequential extraction, seven different sugars and two uronic acids were identified including (in order of abundance) mannose, galacturonic acid, xylose, glucose, fucose, glucuronic acid, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. The monosaccharides and uronic acid products showed good stability in the acidic conditions during storage, which would facilitate their downstream purification and eventual commercialisation.ConclusionPPW is a readily available source of fibre, monosaccharides and uronic acids.Graphical
Highlights
Worldwide potato tuber production has been increasing steadily due to rising demand for human nutrition and bioprocessing in China, Asia and Africa
It is likely that potato peel waste (PPW) is a source of a variety of monosaccharides and uronic acids which are themselves valuable products for commercialisation or further processing
Thin sections (50 μm) were stained with toluidine blue to visualise the cellular organisation of potato skin, the main constituent of PPW (Fig. 1 a–c)
Summary
Worldwide potato tuber production has been increasing steadily due to rising demand for human nutrition and bioprocessing in China, Asia and Africa. It is the fourth most produced edible crop after rice, maize and wheat, with an estimated annual yield of 370 thousand tonnes in 2013, of which between 20–30% by weight can be discarded during post-harvest processing. Several technologies have been applied to recycle and valorise PPW [1–3] These include ultrasound, high-pressure processing, sub-critical water extraction, acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis. These have been applied to obtain valuable components from PPW including biopolymers, polyphenols, glycoalkaloids and reducing sugars. It is likely that PPW is a source of a variety of monosaccharides and uronic acids which are themselves valuable products for commercialisation or further processing
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