Wood Waste from Fruit Trees: Biomolecules and Their Applications in Agri-Food Industry

In the European Union (EU), a total of 11,301,345 hectares are dedicated to the cultivation of fruit trees, mainly olive orchards, grapevines, nut trees (almond, walnut, chestnut, hazelnut, and pistachio), apple and pear trees, stone fruit trees (peach, nectarine, apricot, cherry, and plum), and citrus fruit trees (orange, clementine, satsuma, mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, and pomelo). Pruning these trees, together with plantation removal to a lesser extent, produces a huge amount of wood waste. A theoretical calculation of the wood waste in the European Union estimates approximately 2 and 25 million tons from wood plantation removal and pruning, respectively, per year. This wood waste is usually destroyed by in-field burning or crushing into the soil, which result in no direct economic benefits. However, wood from tree pruning, which is enriched in high added-value mol-ecules, offers a wide spectrum of possibilities for its valorization. This review focuses on the contri-bution of wood waste to both sustainability and the circular economy, considering its use not only as biomass but also as a potential source of bioactive compounds. The main bioactive compounds found in wood are polyphenols, terpenes, polysaccharides, organic compounds, fatty acids, and alkaloids. Polyphenols are the most ubiquitous compounds in wood. Large amounts of hydroxyty-rosol (up to 25 g/kg dw), resveratrol (up to 66 g/kg dw), protocatechuic acid (up to 16.4 g/kg), and proanthocyanins (8.5 g/kg dw) have been found in the wood from olive trees, grapevines, almond trees and plum trees, respectively. The bioactivity of these compounds has been demonstrated at lower concentrations, mainly in vitro studies. Bioactive compounds present antioxidant, antimicro-bial, antifungal, biostimulant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and anticarcinogenic properties, among others. Therefore, wood extracts might have several applications in agriculture, medicine, and the food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries. For example, olive tree wood extract reduced thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in vitro; grapevine tree wood extract acts a preservative in wine, replacing SO2; chestnut tree wood extract has antifungal properties on post-harvest pathogens in vitro; and stone tree wood extracts are used for aging both wines and brandies. Moreover, the use of wood waste contributes to the move towards both a more sustainable development and a circular economy.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad RTA2015-00005-C02-0

Food loss and waste: One of the great challenges of the circulareconomy

En un planeta dónde más de 800 millones de personas pasan hambre, alrededor de un tercio de los alimentos producidos se pierden o desperdician a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, produciendo un gasto innecesario de agua y la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero que revierte en una situación de cambio climático irreversible. Este estudio presenta las principales dificultades que los agentes sociales del sistema agroalimentario encuentran al abordar la reducción del desperdicio alimentario: un marco conceptual difuso, nula estandarización en los métodos de cuantificación, escasa atención en la prevención y un encaje normativo aún por precisar en casos como España. Entre los proyectos internacionales de investigación implementados actualmente destacaremos el proyecto ZeroW, que desarrolla soluciones innovadoras contra la pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos para implementarlas transversalmente a lo largo de toda la cadena agroalimentaria. Mediante este artículo se pretende clarificar la situación de partida de España y Andalucía para reducir la pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos en el contexto europeo y evidenciar la necesidad de avanzar hacia un sistema agroalimentario circular y más sostenible que promueva, desde la innovación, la producción y consumo responsables sin generar.On a planet where more than 800 million people suffer from hunger, around one third of the food produced is lost or wasted along the agri-food chain, causing unnecessary waste of water and the emission of greenhouse gases that leads to irreversible climatechange.This study presents the main difficulties that the social agents of the agri-food system face in addressing the reduction of food waste: a diffuse conceptual framework, no standardization of quantification methods, little attention to prevention and a regulatory framework that has yet to be clarified in cases such as Spain. Among the international research projects currently being implemented, the ZeroW project stands out, which develops innovative solutions against food loss and waste to be implemented transversally throughout the entire agri-food chain. This article aims to clarify the initial situation in Spain and Andalusia to reduce food loss and waste in the European context and to highlight the need to move towards a circular and more sustainable agri-food system that promotes, through innovation, responsible production and consumption without generating waste

Evaluation of Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Eleven Pistachio Cultivars (Pistacia vera L.) Cultivated in Andalusia

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a nut with a good adaptability to the Mediterranean conditions of cultivation, specifically in the Andalusian region, becoming an emerging crop. Moreover, it has been getting attention in the past years for the great content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols. Although some studies have reported the polyphenolic profile of pistachios, most of them have analyzed the hull part, considered as a residue, and not the kernel which is the edible part. Therefore, characterization of eleven varieties of pistachios kernels cultivated in Andalusia and harvested in 2019 and 2020 was carried out by UHPLC-MS (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry). The identification and quantification of 56 polyphenolic compounds was performed, being the hydroxybenzoic acids group the most abundant with a 71–86% of the total amount followed by flavan-3-ols group that accounted for 8–24%. Moreover, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid was the main compound in most of the varieties, followed by vanillic acid hexoside. Larnaka, Avdat, Aegina, and Mateur presented the highest amount of total polyphenols, while Kalehghouchi, Joley, Lost Hills, Kerman, and Golden Hills were the varieties with the lowest content. Regarding the harvest season, no significant differences (p < 0.01) were found in the total amount of polyphenols between 2019 and 2020. In addition, the antioxidant activity was measured by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl), ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), and ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) assays, showing a similar trend as that of the polyphenols

Antioxidant Activity and Bio-Accessibility of Polyphenols in Black Carrot (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) and Two Derived Products during Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion and Colonic Fermentation

Black carrot has been attracting increasing thanks to its high bioactive compound content. This study presents the polyphenol bio-accessibility of black carrot and two derived products (black carrot snack (BC snack) and black carrot seasoning (BC seasoning)) after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation. Additionally, antioxidant activity was measured by 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. Nine flavonoids and eight anthocyanins were determined by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) analysis, the predominant compounds being the hydroxycinnamic acids 3-O-feruloylquinic acid, 4-O-feruloylquinic acid and chlorogenic acid. The BC snack (108 µmol/g DW) presented the highest total polyphenol content, followed by BC seasoning (53 µmol/g DW) and black carrot (11.4 µmol/g DW). The main polyphenols still bio-accessible after in vitro digestion were the hydroxycinnamic acids, with mean recovery rates of 113 % for black carrot, 69% for BC snack and 81% for BC seasoning. The incubation of black carrot and its derived products with human faecal bacterial resulted in the complete degradation of anthocyanins and in the formation of mainly 3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid as the major catabolic event. In conclusion, our results suggest that the black carrot matrix impacts significantly affects the bio-accessibility of polyphenols and, therefore, their potential health benefits

Pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos: Uno de los grandes retos de la economía circular

On a planet where more than 800 million people suffer from hunger, around one third of the food produced is lost or wasted along the agri-food chain, causing unnecessary waste of water and the emission of greenhouse gases that leads to irreversible climate change. This study presents the main difficulties that the social agents of the agri-food system face in addressing the reduction of food waste: a diffuse conceptual framework, no standardization of quantification methods, little attention to prevention and a regulatory framework that has yet to be clarified in cases such as Spain. Among the international research projects currently being implemented, the ZeroW project stands out, which develops innovative solutions against food loss and waste to be implemented transversally throughout the entire agri-food chain. This article aims to clarify the initial situation in Spain and Andalusia to reduce food loss and waste in the European context and to highlight the need to move towards a circular and more sustainable agri-food system that promotes, through innovation, responsible production and consumption without generating waste.En un planeta dónde más de 800 millones de personas pasan hambre, alrededor de un tercio de los alimentos producidos se pierden o desperdician a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, produciendo un gasto innecesario de agua y la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero que revierte en una situación de cambio climático irreversible. Este estudio presenta las principales dificultades que los agentes sociales del sistema agroalimentario encuentran al abordar la reducción del desperdicio alimentario: un marco conceptual difuso, nula estandarización en los métodos de cuantificación, escasa atención en la prevención y un encaje normativo aún por precisar en casos como España. Entre los proyectos internacionales de investigación implementados actualmente destacaremos el proyecto ZeroW, que desarrolla soluciones innovadoras contra la pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos para implementarlas transversalmente a lo largo de toda la cadena agroalimentaria. Mediante este artículo se pretende clarificar la situación de partida de España y Andalucía para reducir la pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos en el contexto europeo y evidenciar la necesidad de avanzar hacia un sistema agroalimentario circular y más sostenible que promueva, desde la innovación, la producción y consumo responsables sin generar

Changes in the Profile of Nutritional and Bioactive Compounds during the Black Onion Processing

This document presents the results of the study of the changes produced in the profile of biosaludable compounds present in fresh onion when it is transformed into black onion. The profile is studied in bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, organosulfur compounds, sugars, organic acids as well as the antioxidant capacity of three onion varieties: Chalota, Chata and EchalionEn este documento se presentan los resultados del estudio de los cambios producidos en el perfil de compuestos biosaludables presentes en la cebolla fresca cuando esta se transforma en cebolla negra. Se estudia el perfil en compuestos bioactivos tales como compuestos fen&oacute;licos, compuestos organosulfurados, az&uacute;cares, &aacute;cidos org&aacute;nicos as&iacute; como de la capacidad antioxidante de tres variedades de cebolla: Chalota, Chata y Echalion

Acute effect of oat β-glucan on the bioavailability of orange juice flavanones

The impact of β-glucan on the bioavailability of orange juice (OJ) flavanones was investigated in a randomised controlled trial. Volunteers consumed 500 mL of OJ without or with either 3 g (OB-3) or 6 g (OB-6) of β-glucan. Urine samples, collected 12 h before and over a 0–24 h period post-supplementation, were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. The overall 0–24 h urinary excretion of the 17 flavanone metabolites identified and quantified in urine after OJ ingestion corresponded to 29.7 µmol, and 25.0 and 9.3 µmol, respectively, after OB-3 and OB-6 intake. This corresponds to 9.3, 7.9, and 2.9% recoveries of the 318 µmol of the ingested flavanones. The acute ingestion of OJ with 6 g, but not 3 g of β-glucan led to a significant reduction (p &lt; 0.05) in the excretion of flavanone metabolites compared with consumption of OJ alone