Aerial surfaces of plants are covered by a waxy cuticle protecting plants from excessive water loss and UV light. In the present study, composition and morphology of cuticular waxes of northern wild berry species bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea L.), bog bilberry (V. uliginosum L.) and crowberry (Empetrum nigrum L.) were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed differences in epicuticular wax morphologies and gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis confirmed variation in chemical composition of cuticular waxes between the berry species. The dominant compounds in bilberry and lingonberry cuticular waxes were triterpenoids while fatty acids and alkanes were the dominant ones in bog bilberry and crowberry, respectively. Wax extracted by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) from industrial press cakes of bilberry and lingonberry contained linoleic acid and γ-linolenic acid as the dominant compounds. Furthermore, in vitro sun protection factor (SPF) of berry waxes depicted good UV-B absorbing capacities.

Historically Triticum aestívum L. and Secale cereále L. are widely used in the production of bakery products. From the total volume of grain cultivated, roughly 85% is used for the manufacturing of flour, while the remaining part is discarded or utilized rather inefficiently. The limited value attached to bran is associated with their structural complexity, i.e., the presence of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which makes this material suitable mostly as a feed supplement, while in food production its use presents a challenge. To valorize these materials to food and pharmaceutical applications, additional pre-treatment is required. In the present study, an effective, sustainable, and eco-friendly approach to ferulic acid (FA) production was demonstrated through the biorefining process accomplished by non-starch polysaccharides degrading enzymes. Up to 11.3 and 8.6 g kg−1 of FA was released from rye and wheat bran upon 24 h enzymatic hydrolysis with multi-enzyme complex Viscozyme® L, respectively.

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