Agro By-products Research Articles

Comparative analysis of phenolic compounds in different thinned unripe kiwifruits and their biological functions

Thinned unripe kiwifruits (TUK) are considered the major agro by-products in kiwifruit production. To promote their potential applications, polyphenols and biological effects of unripe fruits from nine commercial kiwifruit cultivars were compared. Our findings showed that TUK were rich in bioactive polyphenols, which varied greatly by different cultivars. Indeed, catechin, epicatechin, procyanidin PB1, procyanidin B2, protocatechuic acid, neochlorogenic acid, and gallic acid were measured as the major phenolic components in most TUK, with the highest levels observed in ‘Hongao’ and ‘Cuiyu’ cultivars. Furthermore, TUK exerted strong in vitro antioxidant capacities, inhibitory effects on digestive enzymes, and anti-inflammatory activities. Particularly, their stronger antioxidant effects and inhibitory effects on digestive enzymes were probably attributed to their higher contents of phenolic compounds, especially procyanidin B2. Collectively, our findings reveal that TUK are potential resources of valuable polyphenols, which can be exploited as natural antioxidants and natural inhibitors of α-glucosidase and α-amylase.

Physicochemical Quality Attributes Fatty Acids Profiles, Sensory Properties, and Microstructure of Rabbit Meat Fed with Agro By-Products Extracts.

Physicochemical Quality Attributes Fatty Acids Profiles, Sensory Properties, and Microstructure of Rabbit Meat Fed with Agro By-Products Extracts.

Valorization of Industrial and Agro By-products into a Biobased Sustainable Controlled Low Strength Material

Valorization of Industrial and Agro By-products into a Biobased Sustainable Controlled Low Strength Material

Design of Pedal Powered Atta Chakki Based on Engineering Properties of Selected Food Grains

The study was aimed to determine engineering properties of food grains which play an important role in the design of functional componenets of pedal-operated flour mill. The crops namely rice, pigeon pea, wheat, sorghum, and maize were selected for the study. Pedal operated flour mill comonents were designed and developed based on the variation of the engineering properties viz., size, shape, aspect ratio, volume, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, bulk density, true density, density, porosity, weight of 1000 grains, angle of repose, static coefficient of friction and hardness. These properties were determined and considered for the design of functional components viz., design of hopper, selection of drive mechanism, design of supporting frame, selection of grinding stones, power transmission, processing unit, safety, and ergonomics for easy and effective operation were made. The engineering properties are of great importance towards proper design, efficient process and equipment development. The developed pedal-operated flour mill is suitable for grinding almost all cereals and pulses to produce Rawa, Flour (Atta), and Dhal for human consumption and also for producing poultry/fish feed by grinding agro by-products and wastes.

Recent advances incombined Avant-garde technologies (thermal-thermal, non-thermal-non-thermal, and thermal-non-thermal matrix) to extract polyphenols from agro byproducts.

Because food byproducts (waste) are rich in phytoconstituents, valorizing them is crucial for global food security. However, conventional extraction (CE), including decoction, maceration, Soxhlet, etc., for agro byproducts' polyphenol extraction are time-consuming and rely significantly on vast volumes of potentially aggressive solvents. Hence, Avantgarde extraction technologies, including non-thermal (high hydrostatic pressure (HHPE), pulsed-electric field (PEF), high voltage electrical discharges (HVED), etc.) and thermal extraction (supercritical fluid (SCF), subcritical water extraction (SWE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), etc.), as well as their thermal combinations (SCF-PLE, SCCO2-SWE, SCCO2-MAE, etc.), non-thermal combinations (HHPE + UAE, PEF + UAE, HVED + UAE, etc.) and combined thermalnon-thermal (MAE-UAE, etc.) are increasingly replacing CE. However, a review of combined Avant-garde extraction escalation technologies (non-thermal/thermal extraction matrix) for extracting polyphenols from agro-byproducts is limited. Hence, this manuscript reviewed Avant-garde extraction technologies (non-thermal/thermal extraction matrix) for extracting phenolics from agro-byproducts in the last 5 years. The key factors affecting polyphenols' extraction from the byproduct, the recent applications of Avant-garde technologies, and their principle were reviewed using databases from Web of Science and Lens.org. The results demonstrated that combined Avant-garde extraction escalation technologies increase extractability, resulting in polyphenols with higher extraction rates, fewer contaminants, and preservation of thermosensitive components. Therefore, combined Avant-garde extraction technologies should be explored over the next five years. Implementing an integrated process and the strategic sequencing of diverse Avant-garde extraction technologies are important. Thus, further investigation is required to explore the sequencing process and its potential impact on the extraction of phenolics from agro-byproducts.

Acid and alkali pretreatment of agro by-products: Evaluating torrefaction efficiency and dechlorination

Utilisation of crop residues is limited due to their low energy and high ash content. This study aimed to develop a method for enabling the use of residual agricultural biomass through acid or alkali pretreatment followed by torrefaction. Pepper stems were treated with hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide for a brief period of time and rinsed with distilled water. Untreated and acid-pretreated samples had cellulose contents of 43.85% and 36.57%, respectively. The lignin content in the alkali-pretreated samples (22.74%) was lower than that in untreated samples (27.40%). Mass yield decreased with torrefaction temperature, ranging from 86.19% to 49.89%. However, alkali-treated samples showed smaller changes in mass yield (70.31–60.43%) than other samples. Regarding calorific value, untreated samples exhibited the highest increase (26.37%), whereas alkali-treated samples showed a modest increase of 10.62%. Chlorine content was higher in acid-compared with alkali-treated samples but decreased with temperature. Our study demonstrated that agricultural by-products can be used as energy sources through acid or alkali pretreatment prior to torrefaction. Future studies should explore a variety of agricultural by-products and consider pretreatment with different acids or alkalis, such as sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide.

The Effect of Alkali Treatment on the Cellulose Extracted from Rice Husk as Potential Resources of Biomass

Over the last few decades, the use of agro by-products as a biopolymer for various applications has attracted significant interest of researchers. Rice husk (RH) is one of the agro by-products produced abundantly worldwide and a great deal of studies in extracting and utilizing silica from RH have been reported but scarcely for its cellulose components. A specific study on the utilization of cellulose extracted from RH for the electrospinning process also remains unreported. Chemical pre-treatment seems to be the most crucial step which improves the elimination of the cementing components and exposing the cellulose for further applications. This study aimed to explore the potential of RH as a source of raw material to produce cellulose nanofiber. The cellulose was extracted by acid pre-treatment, alkaline treatment at varying sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations, followed by bleaching treatment with sodium hypochlorite for complete removal of the amorphous region. The resulting cellulose was characterized and the main properties (morphology and sizes) of the extracted cellulose were made using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The findings revealed the almost complete removal of the noncellulosic components for the subsequent production of electrospun cellulose nanofibers. Therefore, the output of the cellulose from this underutilized agro-waste has commercial application potential that can add value and be further utilized for the electrospinning process.

Ethyl hexanoate rich stream from grape pomace: A viable route to obtain fine chemicals from agro by-products

A novel viable route for obtaining ethyl hexanoate-rich streams from grape pomace, an agro by-product generated from the winery industry, was investigated. Highly concentrated hexanoic acid (87 wt%) was efficiently produced through the chain elongation fermentation of red and white grape pomace, easily separated, recovered and reacted with ethanol by using AlCl3·6H2O as a catalyst. Under the optimised mild reactive conditions (molar ratio acid:ethanol:catalyst of 1:2:0.1, 5 h, 348 K), a high conversion equal to 93.5 % was achieved in a single step. AlCl3·6H2O was very effective in catalysis, playing an additional key role in the separation of products, shifting the equilibrium of the reaction and making products' recovery easier. After the reaction cycle, the catalyst was easily recoverable and reusable without losing effectiveness. According to this simple layout of processes, including the anaerobic digestion of the residual part of grape pomace, a specific production cost of 0.935 €·kg−1 was calculated related to the final products. This proposed approach could represent a promising green and sustainable route to produce ethyl esters of volatile fatty acids from agro by-products.

Single-Cell Protein Production as a Strategy to Reincorporate Food Waste and Agro By-Products Back into the Processing Chain.

Food waste is a serious problem with negative environmental and economic consequences. Unused food (either as waste or by-products and referred to as food residues in the present work) is a source of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds that could be used in an alternate or secondary life cycle to avoid discarding it. The present work reviews the potential use of food residues for the bioengineering of single-cell protein (SCP), addressing aspects of production, nutrition and safety, as well as the main challenges and perspectives. SCP is obtained from various microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, yeasts and algae, in pure or mixed form. SCP generally contains a higher percentage of protein (30-80%) compared to soy (38.6%), fish (17.8%), meat (21.2%) and whole milk (3.28%). SCP is a source of essential amino acids, including methionine, threonine and lysine. The use of food residues as substrates for the production of SCP would reduce production costs (35-75%); however, optimization and industrial scaling are some of the main challenges to its sustainable production. The use food waste and agro by-products from the food industry could be a promising alternative to obtain protein according to a circular production scheme.

Ethyl Hexanoate Rich Stream from Grape Pomace: A Viable Route to Obtain Fine Chemicals from Agro By-Products

Ethyl Hexanoate Rich Stream from Grape Pomace: A Viable Route to Obtain Fine Chemicals from Agro By-Products

Combined Effects of Citric Acid and Phytase Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Body Composition of Labeo rohita Fingerlings

Aquaculturists have been concentrating their efforts to design aquafeeds using agro by-products to reduce feed costs. However, the presence of a wide variety of antinutritional factors (ANFs) in plant materials is one of the major obstacles. For this purpose, a 2x2 factorial experiment was established to evaluate the suitability of canola meal with citric acid (CA) and phytase (PHY) supplementation for growth performance, nutrient digestibility and body composition of Labeo rohita fingerlings. Five isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets; D1 (control; without CA and PHY), D2 (CA 15 g/kg+PHY 1000 FTU/kg), D3 (CA 30 g/kg+PHY 1000 FTU/kg), D4 (CA 15 g/kg+PHY 2000 FTU/kg) and D5 (CA 30 g/kg+PHY 2000 FTU/kg) were fed to fish (mean initial weight 7.61±0.31 g) in triplicates for 90-days. The growth performance was significantly increased while feed conversion ratio was decreased with D3 compared to control and other CA and PHY supplemented groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, higher digestibility (%) of nutrients (dry matter, crude protein and ash) and improved whole-body composition was also exhibited by fish fed with D3 (P<0.05). Hence, the above results elucidate that supplementation of 30 g/kg CA with 1000 FTU/kg PHY could be a useful approach for improved growth performance, nutrients digestibility and body composition of L. rohita.

Activity of α-amylase Produced by Aspergillus niger at Different pH, Temperature and Incubation Time Using Solid-state Fermentation Process of Corn and Wheat Wastes

In Nigeria, agro by-products have not been fully utilized by many and often discarded at the dumping site. This anthropogenic activity is contributing to an increase in pollution and is a threat to public health. Environmental sustainability requires the wise use of resources that include agro by-products. Therefore, there is a need to utilize the agro by-product for the production of enzymes such as α-amylase. α -amylase is one of the important extracellular enzymes with several uses. The development of suitable technology to produce enzymes at a very lower cost is significant. The solid-state fermentation (SSF) process using corn and wheat wastes as a substrate have been utilized. In this study, Aspergillus niger from abattoir effluent was identified, isolated and used for the production of an enzyme (α-amylase). The study evaluated the effect of temperature, pH and incubation period on the activities of α-amylase produced by Aspergillus niger. The activity of α-amylase was found to be higher at pH 6.5 and temperature above 50oC. At 4 days incubation of the solid-state fermentation of corn and wheat wastes, α-amylase activities produced were 90.61 Unit/mL and 87.34 Unit/mL respectively. Also in this study, 3-dimensional presentation of the pH, temperature and incubation time were evaluated. The result presented an optimal condition for amylase activity produced by Aspergillus niger.

Performance of CO<sub>2</sub> Cured Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash Concrete in Marine Environment

A large amount of industrial and agro wastes mostly end up in landfills and not much attention is given to these wastes, which cause environmental problems. Few of the industrial and agro by-products such as fly ash, sugar cane bagasse ash and silica fume act as pozzolanic materials in preparation of blended cements which provide satisfactory alternative results in waste management. The main goal of this research is to check the durability properties of carbon dioxide cured sugar cane bagasse ash concrete when exposed to marine environments. A set of different concrete mixes were prepared by partially replacing the cement with various percentages of sugarcane bagasse ash (0%, 5%, 15%, 25%) and 10% of silica fume in each mix and then these specimens were cured in water for 28 days, in CO2 gas for 8 hours and in dry ice for 8 hours. After curing, these specimens are exposed to seawater for a period of 28 days, 90 days and 120 days, and then tests are conducted for compressive, tensile, and flexural strength. The test results indicate that replacement of cement with 5% bagasse ash & 10% silica fume showed better effective results when compared to all other percentages of replacements. The specimens cured in CO2 gas showed similar results as that of water cured specimens while the specimens cured with dry ice showed a loss in strength.

Extraction of Carotenoids from Tomato Pomace via Water-Induced Hydrocolloidal Complexation.

Agro-industrial waste is a largely untapped natural resource of bioactive compounds including carotenoids and pectin. However, conventional solvent extraction involves the excessive use of organic solvents, costly equipment, and tedious operation. These limitations of conventional extraction methods could be prospectively overcome by the carotenoid–pectin hydrocolloidal complexation. The complexation of lycopene and pectin was efficiently promoted in an aqueous environment, resulting in the colloidal complexes that can be subsequently recovered by sedimentation or centrifugation. In this study, the potential of carotenoid–pectin complexation on tomato pomace containing carotenoids and pectin was evaluated. Tomato pomace is a rich source of lycopene, β-carotene as well as pectin, making it suitable as the raw material for the carotenoid extraction. The extraction of carotenoid and pectin from tomato pomace was optimized using response surface methodology. The maximum recovery was 9.43 mg carotenoid fractions/100 g tomato pomace, while the purity of carotenoid-rich fractions was 92%. The antioxidant capacity of carotenoids extracted from the complexation method was found to be higher than that from the solvent extraction method. Moreover, extraction yield and antioxidant capacity of carotenoid obtained from the carotenoid–pectin complexation were comparable to that from solvent extraction. The carotenoid–pectin complexation is a promising green approach to valorize agro by-products for the extraction of valuable carotenoids.

Conversion of Agro By-Products to an Alkaline Protease by Aspergillus tamarii and the Usefulness of Its Metabolic Heat for Better Process Understanding

The present study focuses on the measurement of metabolic heat profile for the proteolytic activity by the Aspergillus tamarii. Here, agricultural by-products like wheat bran, cottonseed meal, soya flour and skimmed milk were utilized to maximize the enzyme expression. The study revealed that the maximum heat release (69.5 kJ/L) was dominantly from the oxidative breakdown of the nitrogen source i.e. the cottonseed. A distinguishable growth and non-growth enzyme expression phases of A. tamarii could be identified from the metabolic heat profiles. A maximum enzyme expression of 1.511 U/mL was obtained with a 1% supply of nitrogen source. Metabolic heat production rates were correlated to fungal protease secretion for the first time.

Fermentation approach on phenolic, antioxidants and functional properties of peanut press cake

Abstract India is the second largest producer of peanut. Peanut seeds are rich source of various micro and macro nutrients with their functional properties. Peanut press cakes (PPC) are major byproduct obtained during oil processing of peanuts. So because of high production of peanuts in India, a large amount of residues in form of PPC is also released. Therefore, a great interest in the effective use of agro byproducts with improved nutritional, functional and another health promoting properties by solid state fermentation. So, here in present study the effect of solid state fermentation on phenolic contents, antioxidants and functional properties of fermented and non fermented peanut press cake by GRAS fungal strain A. awamori was examined. The results of the study showed the maximum value of TPC and TFC at 120 h of incubation i.e. 41.73 ± 3.34 µM/gm and 87.35 ± 1.72 µM/gm of fermentation. Whereas in case of tannin content the maximum value was found at 144 h after incubation. Furthermore in antioxidants as well as functional properties significant (p

A Hybrid MCDM Approach for Strategic Project Portfolio Selection of Agro By-Products

Due to the increasing size of the population, society faces several challenges for sustainable and adequate agricultural production, quality, distribution, and food safety in the strategic project portfolio selection (SPPS). The initial adaptation of strategic portfolio management of genetically modified (GM) Agro by-products (Ab-Ps) is a huge challenge in terms of processing the agro food product supply-chain practices in an environmentally nonthreatening way. As a solution to the challenges, the socio-economic characteristics for SPPS of GM food purchasing scenarios are studied. Evaluation and selection of the GM agro portfolio management are the dynamic issues due to physical and immaterial criteria involving a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, combining modified grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), Multi-Attributive Border Approximation area Comparison (MABAC) and sensitivity analysis. Evaluation criteria are grouped into social, differential and beneficial clusters, and the modified DEMATEL procedure is used to derive the criteria weights. The MABAC method is applied to rank the strategic project portfolios according to the aggregated preferences of decision makers (DMs). The usefulness of the proposed research framework is validated with a case study. The GM by-products are found to be the best portfolio. Moreover, this framework can unify the policies of agro technological improvement, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and agro export promotion.

Effect of solid-state fermentation by oyster mushroom (Pleurotus florida) on nutritive value of some agro by-products

ABSTRACTThe present research aims to investigate the effect of Pleurotus florida fungi cultivation on chemical composition, gas production characteristics, organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME), net energy lactation (NEL) and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) of some agro by-products (rice straw, wheat straw, barley straw, soybean straw, canola straw, pea straw and rice husk). Dry matter, organic matter and neutral detergent fibre were significantly decreased upon with fungi application in all treatments (p < 0.01). Fungal treatment did not cause significant difference in the amount of acid detergent fibre (ADF) in soybean straw, canola straw, pea straw and rice husk (p > 0.05), but significantly decreased ADF in rice straw, wheat straw and barley straw (p < 0.05). In experimental treatments, fungi cultivation did not vary significantly in acid detergent lignin and ether extract content (p > 0.05). Processing significantly increased ash and crude protein in all treatments (p < 0.01). The amount of gas production was not significantly affected by fungi cultivation in wheat straw, soybean straw, canola straw and rice husk; however, it was significantly increased upon processing in rice straw, barley straw and pea straw (p < 0.05). The amount of OMD in rice husk was not changed significantly, but processing significantly increased OMD in other treatments (p < 0.05). Fungi cultivation significantly improved ME in all treatments (p < 0.05). The amounts of NEL and SCFA were significantly increased with treatment by fungi (except rice husk) in all substrate (p < 0.01). The results of this study generally indicated that nutritive value of agro by-products was improved upon fungal treatment.

Amino acid composition, mineral contents and protein solubility of some lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus l. Walp) seeds coat

Seeds coat of four lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) varieties were subjected to standard analytical techniques in order to evaluate proximate, amino acid, mineral composition and protein solubility. The proximate analysis indicates moisture content in the range of (3.17–4.96%), crude protein (14.53–15.93%), fat (0.62–0.74%), crude fibre (32.59–33.59%), ash (2.43–3.88%), and carbohydrate (47.11–48.62%) on dry weight basis. The most abundant mineral element in the studied seeds coat was potassium 361.20–459.51mg/100g followed by sodium 71.27–102.51mg/100g and magnesium 83.20–95.23mg/100g. Calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc were also present in significant amount while lead, cobalt and nickel were not detected. The amino acid profile demonstrates nutritionally acceptable results for the samples due to the high levels of essential amino acids in g/100g protein such as lysine 6.42–7.41, leucine 7.51–8.37, arginine 4.42–7.02 and phenylalanine 5.01–5.49; when compared with FAO/WHO standard; with essential amino acids (TEAA) 49.47–51.07g/100g protein. Glutamic and aspartic acid were the most abundant amino acid in all the samples. The protein solubility profiles showed minimum values at pH 4 and more than 70% soluble at pH 10. The study has shown the potentials of lima bean seeds coat, an agro by-products in the development of new functional ingredients for food enrichment to provide an economic alternative raw material for food industries.

Effect of Replacing Maize with Agro By-products on Carcass and Economy of Rabbit

Effect of Replacing Maize with Agro By-products on Carcass and Economy of Rabbit