Green and Sustainable Valorization of Bioactive Phenolic Compounds from Pinus By-Products

Abstract

In Europe, pine forests are one of the most extended forests formations, making pine residues and by-products an important source of compounds with high industrial interest as well as for bioenergy production. Moreover, the valorization of lumber industry residues is desirable from a circular economy perspective. Different extraction methods and solvents have been used, resulting in extracts with different constituents and consequently with different bioactivities. Recently, emerging and green technologies as ultrasounds, microwaves, supercritical fluids, pressurized liquids, and electric fields have appeared as promising tools for bioactive compounds extraction in alignment with the Green Chemistry principles. Pine extracts have attracted the researchers’ attention because of the positive bioproperties, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-neurodegenerative, antitumoral, cardioprotective, etc., and potential industrial applications as functional foods, food additives as preservatives, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Phenolic compounds are responsible for many of these bioactivities. However, there is not much information in the literature about the individual phenolic compounds of extracts from the pine species. The present review is about the reutilization of residues and by-products from the pine species, using ecofriendly technologies to obtain added-value bioactive compounds for industrial applications.

Extractives of Stemwood and Sawmill Residues of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) for Biorefining in Four Climatic Regions in Finland—Phenolic and Resin Acid Compounds

“…Currently known potential applications of individual phenolic compounds of Scots pine wood may be in high value-added bioactive substances replacing synthetic compounds in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects [12,57,58]. Typical applications for resin acids, which make up of 40 to 50% of heartwood extractives and 3 to 4% of sapwood extractives in pine species on average [42], include perfumed compounds for cosmetics, additives for food and beverages, antimicrobial food protection, and biomedical applications [42,59,60].…”

“…In addition, the polarity of the solvent and the extraction method chosen influence the content of the natural antioxidant extracted and the antioxidant activity of the extracts. Studies for alternative extraction techniques and solvents for obtaining environmentally healthy, sustainable, and viable processes have been done to replace conventional methods [1,2,56,57]. These include ultrasound and microwave-assisted extractions, supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized liquid extraction and ohmic heating extraction.…”

Antioxidant Potential of Pine Needles: A Systematic Study on the Essential Oils and Extracts of 46 Species of the Genus Pinus

“…The genus Pinus is a well-known source of antioxidants, mainly phenolic compounds, including procyanidins and other flavonoids and phenolic acids, already available in the market as food supplements or phytochemical remedies, such as Pycnogenol ™ , a standardized bark extract from Pinus maritima , with a remarkable array of biological activities, used also in the treatment of chronic inflammation and circulatory dysfunction [ 6 ]. In the last 25 years, various pine extracts and preparations have exhibited significant health-promoting activities, e.g., protective activity against alcohol-induced liver disease or against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation, hippocampal memory-enhancing activity, and activity for the early management of dyslipidemia, that can be potentially useful in food, functional food, and food supplement industries [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…Besides the traditional use of pine seeds for human consumption either as edible raw nuts or in cooked dishes due to their high nutritional value and enticing taste [ 7 ], the use of pines cones, needles, bark and oil as food or food ingredients has already been established and accepted in the EU [ 16 ]. Pine needles have been used as herb tea in Estonian folk medicine [ 17 ], while pine needle-based food products, such as pine needle powder, wine and herbal teas, have become quite popular in the Korean food market [ 18 ].…”

Valorization of Natural Antioxidants for Nutritional and Health Applications

“…The issues created by the increase of the human population, together with a reduction in renewable resources, is reflected in the increase of the global demand for reuse of industrial biowastes, as well as increasing the use of underexploited resources. The growing demand for new or alternative bioactive molecules obtained by green and sustainable processes, and decreasing the quantity of biowastes are premises for the development of conscious approaches for the valorization of phytochemicals from natural sources [5,6]. Additionally, the development and optimization of efficient and intensified process for the recovery and isolation of high value phytochemicals are important.…”