Plant Antioxidants from Agricultural Waste: Synergistic Potential with Other Biological Properties and Possible Applications

Abstract

The increasing world population entails a great necessity to produce large amounts of food, leading to an increase in organic waste. Unlike traditional agriculture, based on the circular sustainability, modern agriculture produces tons of residues, which are accumulated in landfills or, in some cases, burnt. Numerous studies have demonstrated that agricultural residues are rich in bioactive compounds, particularly phenolic compounds, with antioxidant properties. Antioxidant activity has been widely related with protective effects and prevention potential for different diseases. Also, the scavenging and protective effects of antioxidant compounds have shown a connection and synergistic effect with other biological properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-aging, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, or antidiabetic. These compounds can be applied in several fields, including food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry. This chapter will be focused on the interconnected bioactive properties and possible applications of plant-origin compounds with antioxidant potential to valorize different agricultural waste.

Antimicrobial Activity of Ethanolic Extracts From Wheat, Sunflower and Maize Crop Residues

“…Slight diff erences in the chemical composition among these three crop residues were detected; the highest content of cellulose (61.2%) and the lowest content of lignin (6.9%) were determined in maize stalk residues, sunfl ower stalks had the highest content of hemicellulose (29.7%), lignin (13.4%) and ash (11.17%), while wheat straw had the lowest content of cellulose (32.9%) and ash (6.7%) (Singh nee' Nigam et al, 2009; Martin et al, 2012;Sadh et al, 2018). Furthermore, previous research investigated the antioxidant properties of diff erent agro-industrial wastes (Câmara et al, 2020; Carpena et al, 2022); however, the antimicrobial activity has been less studied (Martin et al, 2012;Martillanes et al, 2020;Alexandrino et al, 2021). To our knowledge, there is no data on the antimicrobial eff ect of ethanolic maize and sunfl ower stalks, and wheat straw extracts.…”

“…Process residues are residues present even aft er the crop is processed into a valuable alternate resource, and these include husks, seeds, roots, bagasse, and molasses (Sadh et al, 2018). Th e limited and inadequate management of this agricultural waste causing environmental pollution is a global issue that emerged an urgent need to develop strategies based on new sustainable and circular models for waste timely utilization and valorization (Carpena et al, 2022).…”

Investigation of some useful chemical parameters in Shea tree (Vitelaria paradoxa) nut wastewater collected after extraction of the butter: prospects of Shea butter waste valorization

“…Also, the scavenging and protective effects of antioxidant compounds have shown a connection and synergistic effect with other biological properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-aging, neuroprotective, cardio-protective, or antidiabetic. These compounds can be applied in several fields, including food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry (Carpena et al, 2022). The current material under study is therefore of potential use.…”

Maximizing the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Diospyros kaki Peel through the Use of a Pulsed Electric Field and Ultrasound Extraction

“…The scavenging activity of H 2 O 2 showed variable values, with an increase of up to 114%, with values ranging from 15.46 to 33.03 µmol of AAE/g (Table 2). Considering the crucial importance of antioxidant activity in the food, medicinal, and cosmetic industries [56,57], persimmon peel emerges as a good alternative source of antioxidant compounds. The maximum predicted values in all three methods of measuring antioxidant capacity, as well as the optimal extraction parameters, are presented in Table 5.…”