Can Agri-Food Waste Be a Sustainable Alternative in Aquaculture? A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytic Study on Growth Performance, Innate Immune System, and Antioxidant Defenses

Abstract

The agri-food industry generates a large amount of waste every year, which is both an environmental and economic problem, especially for the countries in charge of its disposal. Over the years, there has been a growing interest especially in plant waste, since they are rich in compounds with high nutritional and nutraceutical value. As a result, several scientific disciplines are investigating their alternative use in the formulation of dietary supplements for human or animal use, or as biostimulants for agricultural purposes. In this review, using a meta-analytical approach, we summarize the main and most recent findings related to the use of plant waste as potential ingredients in dietary supplementation for fish grown under controlled experimental conditions. In particular, in this review, it has been highlighted that plant waste may have not only positive effects on growth performance, but also beneficial effects on modulation of the innate immune system and antioxidant defenses. Finally, the bibliometric study and a mapping provide an overview of the recent publications, showing the research strength across the country, the number of potential collaborations among institutions, and the main research focus, demonstrating how this topic is growing in interest, especially in Europe.

Green Jobs: Bibliometric Review

“…The results of this method are presented in form of bibliometric maps with the use of the VOSviewer program (version 1.6.18). This software is commonly used by researchers in bibliometric studies in different research areas [ 57 , 58 ]. The method used in this research is to perform bibliometric analysis to produce a network visualization of keywords for the queries.…”

Valorization of Food Waste as Animal Feed: A Step towards Sustainable Food Waste Management and Circular Bioeconomy

“…The features and composition of wasted food in various studies have also been summarized in the process of evaluating the policies and treatment alternatives in light of their significance in choosing the best prevention policies and treatment approaches [ 5 ]. Whereas the latter has been explored in terms of the recovery (reuses and recycle) and disposal of the FW hierarchy, the former has been illustrated via an analysis of the policies and regulation systems that have been enacted [ 6 ]. This has been utilized to gain understanding of the motivations guiding initiatives to handle FW sustainably [ 7 ].…”

Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant, Antiproliferative, and Antimicrobial Properties of Rubus idaeus Seed Powder

“…For many years, this waste was used as animal feed or disposed of in landfills. Currently, due to an increased perception of the benefits of the circular economy, plant food waste and by-products are now being investigated for recycling in food and non-food applications [ 2 , 3 ]. In particular, agri-food waste and by-products are still rich in bioactive compounds [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] and can therefore be used as raw materials for cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical formulations.…”