Valorization of agri-food by-products for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutraceutical applications in a circular economy perspective

The global food system faces a critical sustainability challenge with significant food loss and waste, substantially contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Global efforts aim to reduce this waste by adopting circular economy principles. Indeed, the large amounts of agricultural waste generated are rich in valuable bioactive compounds like polyphenols and proteins, with applications in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. This research focuses on valorizing underutilized by-products from Fruttagel®, an Italian agri-food company processing many fruits (apples, apricots, peaches and tomato) and legumes (beans, green beans, peas and soy). By-products from fruit juice (pomace, peels, etc.) and tomato sauce production (peels), as well as legume by-products (skins, leaves, okara), were analyzed and compared to final products. Analytical methodologies, including Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) for polyphenol recovery and chromatographic methods (HPLC-DAD and UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn), were developed and optimized for chemical characterization and stability evaluation. The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) assays were applied for functional screening. Protein content was determined using the Kjeldahl method. Pesticide analysis was also conducted on fruit by-products. Chemical analysis revealed significant amounts of different polyphenols in the by-products, such as chlorogenic acid in biological peach and apricot, feruloyl glucaric acid derivatives in beans, flavonols in green beans, and isoflavones in soy. Many by-products, especially soy, also showed high protein content suggesting potential in nutraceuticals and cosmetics. In collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Valpharma S.p.A., an enteric-coated tablet incorporating UAE extracts as active ingredients was formulated, exploiting the prebiotic potential of polyphenols. Purification and concentration methods for the extracts were optimized, and a "marker Tablet" strategy, employing a substitute active ingredient, was used to evaluate tablet properties. The obtained results demonstrate the significant potential of agri-food by-products as valuable and sustainable ingredients within a circular bio-economy, highlighting their nutritional and functional benefits for new formulations.