Valorisation of pumpkin seeds and peels into biodegradable packaging films

Synergistic impact of natural gums and crosslinkers on the properties of oilseed meals based biopolymeric films

The waste material utilization from available agricultural resources can be beneficial in the field of economic, social, and environmental well-being. One of the main industrial crops used to manufacture oil from oilseeds worldwide is agricultural waste, such as the cake made from oilseeds. In this study, de-oiled cakes are used to create biopolymeric films. Three widely accessible oilseed meals viz. flaxseed, soybean, and mustard were gathered, ground, and sieved. A film forming suspension of defatted meals along with natural gums (acacia and xanthan gum) and crosslinkers (citric acid and glutaraldehyde) were formed. The suspension was cast into petri dishes and dried to produce smooth and even films. The physical, functional, color, thermal and morphological properties of the oilseed meals-gums crosslinked biopolymeric film were evaluated and statistical analysis was performed. The solubility was found to be decreased and tensile strength was increased with the addition of citric acid and increase in tensile strength. There was significant difference observed in the values of elongation at break after addition of citric acid as crosslinker. The research shows how oilseed meals enriched with natural gum and crosslinkers may be converted into biopolymeric films, which can then be used in food packaging to lessen reliance on petroleum-based, non-biodegradable plastics.

Assessment of Quality and Efficiency of Cold-Pressed Oil from Selected Oilseeds

In this present study, an oil press was used to process 200 g each of sesame, pumpkin, flax, milk thistle, hemp and cumin oilseeds in order to evaluate the amount of oil yield, seedcake, sediments and material losses (oil and sediments). Sesame produced the highest oil yield at 30.60 ± 1.69%, followed by flax (27.73 ± 0.52%), hemp (20.31 ± 0.11%), milk thistle (14.46 ± 0.51%) and pumpkin (13.37 ± 0.35%). Cumin seeds produced the lowest oil yield at 3.46 ± 0.15%. The percentage of sediments in the oil, seedcake and material losses for sesame were 5.15 ± 0.09%, 60.99 ± 0.04% and 3.27 ± 1.56%. Sediments in the oil decreased over longer storage periods, thereby increasing the percentage oil yield. Pumpkin oil had the highest peroxide value at 18.45 ± 0.53 meq O2/kg oil, an acid value of 11.21 ± 0.24 mg KOH/g oil, free fatty acid content of 5.60 ± 0.12 mg KOH/g oil and iodine value of 14.49 ± 0.16 g l/100 g. The univariate ANOVA of the quality parameters against the oilseed type was statistically significant (p-value < 0.05), except for the iodine value, which was not statistically significant (p-value > 0.05). Future studies should analyze the temperature generation, oil recovery efficiency, percentage of residual oil in the seedcake and specific energy consumption of different oilseeds processed using small-large scale presses.

Carotenoid Content and Profiles of Pumpkin Products and By-Products

The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the current findings on the major carotenoids and their content in pumpkin products and by-products. The content of total carotenoids and the composition of carotenoids in pumpkins depend mainly on the species and cultivar, pedoclimatic conditions, the part of the plant (pulp, peel or seed), extraction procedures and the type of solvent used for extraction. The major carotenoids identified in pumpkins were β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. β-Carotene is the major carotenoid in most pumpkin species. The number and content of total carotenoids are higher when minor carotenoids and ester forms are considered. The use of carotenoids in the development of functional foods has been the topic of many versatile studies in recent years, as they add significant value to foods associated with numerous health benefits. In view of this, pumpkin and pumpkin by-products can serve as a valuable source of carotenoids.

Gelatin- and Papaya-Based Biodegradable and Edible Packaging Films to Counter Plastic Waste Generation

Most of the food packaging materials used in the market are petroleum-based plastics; such materials are neither biodegradable nor environmentally friendly and require years to decompose. To overcome these problems, biodegradable and edible materials are encouraged to be used because such materials degrade quickly due to the actions of bacteria, fungi, and other environmental effects. In this work, commonly available household materials such as gelatin, soy protein, corn starch, and papaya were used to prepare cost-effective lab-scale biodegradable and edible packaging film as an effective alternative to commercial plastics to reduce waste generation. Prepared films were characterized in terms of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), optical transparency, and tensile strength. FTIR confirmed the addition of papaya and soy protein to the gelatin backbone. WVTR of the gelatin-papaya films was recorded to be less than 50 g/m²/day. This water vapor barrier was five times better than films of pristine gelatin. The gelatin, papaya, and soy protein films exhibited transparencies of around 70% in the visible region. The tensile strength of the film was 2.44 MPa, which improved by a factor of 1.5 for the films containing papaya and soy protein. The barrier qualities of the gelatin and gelatin-papaya films maintained the properties even after going through 2000 bending cycles. From the results, it is inferred that the prepared films are ideally suitable for food encapsulation and their production on a larger scale can considerably cut down the plastic wastage.

Progress in the Valorization of Fruit and Vegetable Wastes: Active Packaging, Biocomposites, By-Products, and Innovative Technologies Used for Bioactive Compound Extraction

According to the Food Wastage Footprint and Climate Change Report, about 15% of all fruits and 25% of all vegetables are wasted at the base of the food production chain. The significant losses and wastes in the fresh and processing industries is becoming a serious environmental issue, mainly due to the microbial degradation impacts. There has been a recent surge in research and innovation related to food, packaging, and pharmaceutical applications to address these problems. The underutilized wastes (seed, skin, rind, and pomace) potentially present good sources of valuable bioactive compounds, including functional nutrients, amylopectin, phytochemicals, vitamins, enzymes, dietary fibers, and oils. Fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW) are rich in nutrients and extra nutritional compounds that contribute to the development of animal feed, bioactive ingredients, and ethanol production. In the development of active packaging films, pectin and other biopolymers are commonly used. In addition, the most recent research studies dealing with FVW have enhanced the physical, mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of packaging and biocomposite systems. Innovative technologies that can be used for sensitive bioactive compound extraction and fortification will be crucial in valorizing FVW completely; thus, this article aims to report the progress made in terms of the valorization of FVW and to emphasize the applications of FVW in active packaging and biocomposites, their by-products, and the innovative technologies (both thermal and non-thermal) that can be used for bioactive compounds extraction.

Active Biodegradable Films Based on Sweet Lime Peel Residue and Its Effect on Quality of Fish Fillets

Residual sweet lime peels after the extraction of essential oil by solvent free microwave extraction were used for developing biodegradable film. Glycerol as a plasticizer, soya lecithin as an emulsifier and sweet lime essential oil (0, 1, 2 and 3%) as an active agent was employed. Developed films were analyzed for their mechanical, barrier and antimicrobial properties. The films (with 3% essential oil) which reported highest antimicrobial property against E. coli (24.24 ± 2.69 mm) were wrapped on fish fillet and stored at the refrigerated condition for 12 days. The quality of fish fillets was evaluated every 4 days and compared with polyethylene wrapped and control fish fillets. The active film wrapped sample showed less surface microbial count (3.28 ± 0.16 log cfu/cm²) compared to polyethylene wrapped sample. The hardness values were increased during storage and cohesiveness and springiness of all wrapped samples decreased from day 0 to day 12.

Environmental assessment of viticulture waste valorisation through composting as a biofertilisation strategy for cereal and fruit crops

Composting is a solid waste management alternative that avoids the emission of methane associated with its disposal in landfill and reduces or eliminates the need for chemical fertilisers if compost is applied. The main objective of this study was to analyse the environmental burdens of composting as a way to achieve a more circular valorisation of wine waste. To do so, with the purpose of identifying optimal operational conditions and determining the "hotspots" of the process, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used. The consumption of diesel fuel in machinery was determined to be the main critical point in the environmental effects of the system, followed by the transport and distribution of the compost. After the application of compost instead of mineral fertilisers, corn, tomato and strawberry crops would have a better environmental performance in most impact categories. In this sense, a maximum improvement of 65% in terrestrial ecotoxicity is achieved in strawberry cultivation. In light of the results obtained, it is demonstrated that composting is a suitable way of organic waste valorisation according to Circular Economy principles.

Dietary Fiber from Underutilized Plant Resources—A Positive Approach for Valorization of Fruit and Vegetable Wastes

Agri-food industries generate enormous amounts of fruit and vegetable processing wastes, which opens up an important research area aimed towards minimizing and managing them efficiently to support zero wastes and/or circular economy concept. These wastes remain underutilized owing to a lack of appropriate processing technologies vital for their efficient valorization, especially for recovery of health beneficial bioactives like dietary fibers. Dietary fiber finds wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries and holds high promise as a potential food additive and/or as a functional food ingredient to meet the techno-functional purposes important for developing health-promoting value-added products. Based on this, the present review has been designed to support ‘zero waste’ and ‘waste to wealth’ concepts. In addition, the focus revolves around providing updated information on various sustainability challenges incurred towards valorization of fruit and vegetable wastes for extraction of health promoting dietary fibers.