Ultrasound is a novel green technology that has been shown to have a multitude of application.This study focused on ultrasound application as a green platform adding values from agricultural waste in two different contexts. Ultrasound was used to increase efficiency of extraction of bioactive compounds such as saponins and phenolics in tomato skin, hemp meal and hops flowers.Ultrasound was used to create stable emulsion gels from byproducts/leftovers of tomato skin, hemp meal and hops flowers to produce green biomaterials. It was found that ultrasound treatment reduced extraction time for saponin and phenolic acid during tomato skin, hemp meal and/or hops flowers extraction from 24h to 30 min. The measured TPC for tomato, hemp and hops were also respectively 87.22±21.12, 147.39±16.92 g, 450.32±26.47 g of GAE/100g per sample for UAE extraction and for traditional extraction of respectively 89.14±11.61g, 159.42±28.20 and 460.95±48.57 g of GAE/100g of sample. Similar results were obtained from total saponin content. UAE and traditional extraction showed respective TSC of 1443.79±125.24 vs 1337.65 mg of DE/ 100g of sample for tomato, 1511.25±136.98 vs 1618.93±58.90 mg of DE/ 100g of sample for hemp meal extraction, 8037.83±885.45 vs 9847.34±2063.63 mg of DE/ 100g of sample for hops flower extraction. Influence of ultrasound was also shown to have no impact on antioxidative capacity of extract obtained from tomato skin, hemp meal and hops flowers.Ultrasound treatment was shown to positively impact the overall microscopic structure and qualities of bioplastic such as water activity, % moisture, hardness, cohesiveness, resilience, and springiness index. This study suggests that ultrasound can be used as sustainable non-thermal method for extraction of active saponins and phenolics, enhancing their physico-chemical characteristic in bioplastic materials.

The microbiota gut–brain axis (mGBA) is an important contributor to mental health and neurological and mood disorders. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are endotoxins that are components of Gram-negative bacteria cell walls and have been widely shown to induce both systemic and neuro-inflammation. Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) is an oilseed rich in fibre, n3-poly-unsaturated fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)), and lignan, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, which all can induce beneficial effects across varying aspects of the mGBA. The objective of this study was to determine the potential for dietary supplementation with flaxseed or flaxseed oil to attenuate LPS-induced inflammation through modulation of the mGBA. In this study, 72 5-week-old male C57Bl/6 mice were fed one of three isocaloric diets for 3 weeks: (1) AIN-93G basal diet (BD), (2) BD + 10% flaxseed (FS), or (3) BD + 4% FS oil (FO). Mice were then injected with LPS (1 mg/kg i.p) or saline (n = 12/group) and samples were collected 24 h post-injection. Dietary supplementation with FS, but not FO, partially attenuated LPS-induced systemic (serum TNF-α and IL-10) and neuro-inflammation (hippocampal and/or medial prefrontal cortex IL-10, TNF-α, IL-1β mRNA expression), but had no effect on sickness and nest-building behaviours. FS-fed mice had enhanced fecal microbial diversity with increased relative abundance of beneficial microbial groups (i.e., Lachnospiraceae, Bifidobacterium, Coriobacteriaceae), reduced Akkermansia muciniphila, and increased production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which may play a role in its anti-inflammatory response. Overall, this study highlights the potential for flaxseed to attenuate LPS-induced inflammation, in part through modulation of the intestinal microbiota, an effect which may not be solely driven by its ALA-rich oil component.