Search Results (138)

Fecal microbiota are shaped by upstream digestive processes and reflect the outcome of host–microbe interactions, including the resistant microbial fraction that survives to be excreted. This is particularly crucial for assessing zoonotic risks and environmental contamination, as feces are the primary source of dissemination, which is considered an emerging One Health threat. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to obtain the exploratory findings regarding the cattle GIT microbial composition, potential resistome, and their transmission drivers, such as plasmids, using metagenomic analysis from different districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan. For this purpose, a total of 150 fecal samples (50 from each district) of healthy cattle were collected from various farms in Mardan (FC1), Peshawar (FC2), and Dera Ismail Khan (FC3) districts. Total DNA from each sample was extracted, pooled (FC1, FC2, and FC3), and sequenced via the Illumina platform. Bacteria were the highly abundant kingdom, while Pseudomonadota and Bacillota were dominant phyla in all samples. Caryophanon latum and Escherichia coli were highly abundant at the species level. A large resistome (40–49 genes), including critical genes, such as tet(X), bla_OXA-427, and plasmidomes (16–22), such as IncF, was detected in the samples. The prominence of certain commensal or opportunistic pathogens in the fecal microbiota may indicate the presence of sub-clinical gastrointestinal disruptions or disease that may affect cattle herds. The fecal resistome is extensive, identifying dairy cattle in these regions as important reservoirs for AMR genes capable of spreading via HGT. This pilot study establishes that the fecal microbiota of dairy cattle in this region are not merely a waste product but a complex ecosystem, rich in microbiota of One Health significance. Full article

Mounting volumes of fruit processing by-products pose an environmental challenge, yet these wastes harbor rich polyphenol reservoirs locked within plant cell walls. Fermentation has emerged as a green biotransformation strategy to unlock these bound antioxidants without the need for chemical solvents, converting waste streams into value-added nutraceutical ingredients. This review summarizes recent advances in fermenting fruit by-products to boost their total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity, illustrating fermentation’s role in both functional enhancement and sustainable waste valorization. Across diverse fruit substrates, microbial fermentation consistently increases TPC and enhances antioxidant activity, demonstrating significant functional enrichment. More importantly, unlike conventional solvent extraction, fermentation-driven valorization reduces chemical waste and allows full incorporation of the biomass into edible products, including bakery products, beverages, and fermented dairy alternatives. This sustainable approach aligns with circular economy principles by turning food waste into functional ingredients, effectively bridging nutritional enhancement with environmental responsibility. Overall, the findings highlight fermentation as an innovative pathway for waste upcycling in the food system, opening new avenues for antioxidant-rich, zero-waste products and their integration into sustainable food ingredient development, while also indicating that the main barrier to industrial translation lies not in functional efficacy but in process compatibility, reproducibility, and scalability under realistic food processing conditions. Full article

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are among the most widely consumed and nutritious vegetables globally, being abundant in lycopene, carotenoids, phenolics, organic acids, vitamins, and several other bioactive and health-enhancing compounds. Tomato processing yields a substantial residue known as tomato pomace (TP), primarily composed of peels and seeds, along with a small quantity of pulp. This study investigates the potential of TP powder, rich in dietary fiber, lycopene, polyphenols, and other bioactive compounds, as a natural ingredient in semi-hard cheese. The cheese was enhanced with varying concentrations of TP (5%, 7%), and each variant was assessed for physico-chemicals, sensory properties, minerals, color, phytochemicals, and texture. Cheeses supplemented with TP showed elevated levels of phytochemicals (45.44–82.83 mg GAE/100 g), greater antioxidant capacity (470.25–977.41 µmol TE/g), and higher fiber content (3.62–5.44%), while sensory acceptability remained acceptable at lower inclusion levels but decreased at 7% TP due to slightly bitter aftertaste. Textural analysis showed minimal changes in TP-enriched cheeses, suggesting that TP can be integrated into semi-hard cheese matrices without compromising quality. This study illustrates the feasibility of utilizing TP as an important ingredient in cheese manufacturing, aiding in waste minimization and fostering a circular economy within the food sector. The findings underscore TP’s capacity to enhance dairy products, facilitating innovative and sustainable food solutions that advance health and environmental objectives. Full article

A rapidly emerging approach within the scientific community involves the utilization of waste streams for renewable energy generation, particularly through biomethane production. A key aspect of this approach lies in the co-digestion of diverse waste streams, which can enhance process efficiency and contribute to a more effective reduction in the organic load. The present study investigates the anaerobic digestion of a mixture of food waste leachates and dairy waste (cheese whey wastewater), with a dual objective: to evaluate the reduction in organic-load efficiency of the mixed substrate and to assess the production of biogas enriched in biomethane content. Three distinct mixing ratios by volume of the two waste streams (25%/75%, 50%/50% and 75%/25%) were subjected to an anaerobic digestion process under the same SIR. The performance of each mixture was assessed in terms of both reduction in organic-load efficiency and biomethane yield, followed by a comparative analysis to identify the optimal mixing ratio. The results indicate that while the organic-load reduction remains consistently effective across all mixing ratios, the biomethane production potential is notably higher for the 25%/75% waste mixture, highlighting it as the most promising configuration for both energy recovery and waste treatment efficiency. Full article

Cheese whey, the major by-product of the dairy industry, poses an environmental challenge due to its high organic load but simultaneously represents a nutrient-dense matrix suitable for biotechnological valorization. This review synthesizes recent advances positioning whey as (i) a fermentation substrate for lactic acid bacteria, yeasts/fungi, and microalgae, enabling the production of functional biomass, organic acids, bioethanol, exopolysaccharides, enzymes, and wastewater bioremediation; (ii) a platform for postbiotic generation, supporting cell-free preparations with functional activities; and (iii) a food-grade encapsulating material, particularly through whey proteins (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin), which can form emulsions, gels, and films that protect biotics and bioactive compounds during processing, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. We analyze key operational variables (whey type and pretreatment, supplementation strategies, batch and continuous cultivation modes), encapsulation routes (spray drying, freeze-drying, and hybrid protein–polysaccharide systems), and performance trade-offs relevant to industrial scale-up. Finally, we outline future directions, including precision fermentation, mixed-culture processes with in situ lactase activity, microfluidics-enabled encapsulation, and life-cycle assessment, to integrate product yields with environmental performance. Collectively, these strategies reframe whey from a high-impact waste into a circular bioeconomy resource for the food, nutraceutical, and environmental sectors. Full article

Second cheese whey (SCW), a major by-product of ricotta cheese production, poses significant environmental challenges due to its high organic load. Biohydrogen (bio-H₂) and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production offer a sustainable reuse of SCW, that provides ideal nutrients for microbial growth. This study aimed to convert SCW into Bio-H₂ and PHB using a 5-liter tubular bioreactor in a sequential lactic fermentation and photofermentation system. Two lighting conditions were tested: white LED (WL) and selected LED (SL). Optimal results were achieved with a co-inoculum of Lactococcus lactis MK L84 and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei MK L49 at pH 4.5–5.5, followed by photofermentation with Rhodopseudomonas palustris 42OL under SL condition. The process yielded an average of 0.47 L of H₂ per liter of substrate and 1.66% wPHB/wCDW. This approach successfully transformed dairy waste into high-value products, promoting circular economy principles. Full article

Garden waste is a solid waste produced by plant littering or pruning. Improper disposal can easily pollute the environment. The addition of bulking agents (BAs) can improve the efficiency of organic waste composting. In this study, garden waste and dairy manure were used as raw materials, and easily available and recyclable branches were used as bulking agents to realize the synergistic resource utilization of the two. Three treatments were set up in the experiment, and 10% crushed branches, 1 cm branches, and 3 cm branches were added to the raw materials, respectively. The results showed that compared with the control group (adding crushed branches), the addition of 1 cm branches and 3 cm branches increased the cellulose degradation rate by 13.16–13.33% and the hemicellulose degradation rate by 18.24–23.86%. The monitoring results of CO₂ release showed that the cumulative CO₂ release of the treatment groups with 1 cm and 3 cm branches was 78.56 L and 102.17 L, respectively, which was significantly higher than that of the crushed branches (67.24 L), indicating that the addition of 1 cm and 3 cm branches increased microbial activity and degradation efficiency. Microbial diversity analysis further showed that in the treatment group with 1 cm branches, the number of nodes in the co-occurrence network increased by 24.11% and 2.84%, respectively, compared with the crushed branches and 3 cm branches, and the number of edges increased by 44.25% and 19.72%, forming the most abundant and complex microbial community, which verified its promotion effect on the composting process from the microbial level. In summary, this study recommends the use of branches with a particle size of 1 cm as BAs for garden waste composting. Full article

Whey, a by-product of cheese and casein manufacture, represents a major output in dairy processing and a valuable resource for the production of functional foods. This review examines the technological, environmental, and nutritional aspects of whey valorization, emphasizing its transformation from an ecological burden to a raw material with high economic potential. Over time, whey has evolved from being regarded as waste product to becoming a strategic ingredient in the formulation of modern functional foods and bio-based materials. Data from January 2015 to October 2025 were collected from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to outline global whey production, utilization rates, and emerging processing methods. Modern membrane, enzymatic, and non-thermal technologies enable the recovery of valuable components, including proteins, lactose, and bioactive compounds. The use of these techniques reduces the biochemical and chemical oxygen demand in wastewater The review highlights the use of whey in functional beverages, milk and meat processing, edible films, bioplastics, and biofuels, as well as its microbiological and biotechnological potential. Results indicate that only about half of the 180–200 million tonnes of whey produced annually is effectively valorized, underscoring the need for integrated circular-economy approaches. Overall, whey valorization contributes to sustainable food production, environmental protection, and the development of innovative, health-promoting products that align with global strategies for waste reduction and the development of functional foods. Full article

Anaerobic reactors are often used to control emissions and capture greenhouse gas (GHG) (biogas, a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane) from waste such as dairy manure. However, real-time monitoring of biogas production during in vitro anaerobic experiments is often challenging mainly due to the unpredictable and low levels of biogas production in a lab reactor system. The application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can enhance real-time monitoring of biogas production and GHG emissions from livestock waste. Integration of IoT to anaerobic reactors provides transformative solutions for low-cost monitoring. In this study, an IoT based sensor system that included a highly sensitive Renesas mass flow sensor module for biogas monitoring, Adafruit ported pressure sensor for monitoring of reactor pressure, and ultra-small DROK temperature probe for temperature monitoring was built and implemented for determining the biogas production in anaerobic reactors. Further, impacts of anaerobic process on the reduction of pathogenic organisms such as E. coli were determined using the conventional culture-based method. Results showed that the application of the IoT based system was able to monitor biogas production in real-time, and transmit the data to mobile phone using the ThingSpeak IoT platform offered by MathWorks (MATLAB) (Natick, MA, USA). The difference between the sensor’s biogas volume readings and actual observations over a 30-day time interval was 5–6% indicating the high level of accuracy and low error levels of the system. Further, results showed 1.6–4.8 log reductions of E. coli in effluent of anaerobic reactors indicating substantial impacts of the anaerobic process on pathogen indicator reduction. We anticipate that the system we used in this study has a substantial potential to enhance monitoring of anaerobic reactors and GHG emissions from livestock waste. Full article

Tomato processing and dairy industries generate significant effluents worldwide, contributing to environmental pollution and nutrient loss. Anaerobic digestion (AD) offers a sustainable solution by treating these effluents while recovering nutrients and producing biomethane. Substrate composition and temperature play a key role in AD efficiency. This study investigates the batch co-digestion of tomato waste (TW) and cheese whey (CW) under mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) conditions over 20 days. Fresh cow manure (CM) served as the inoculum, maintaining a substrate-to-inoculum ratio of 1 (S/I = 1) across all digesters. The co-digestion ratios (CDRs), expressed as CW/TW (gVS/gVS), were set at 4.6, 1.7, 0.8 and 0.3. Co-digestion of TW with CW produced 2.5 times higher methane yield than mono-digestion of TW in both temperature conditions. Similarly, among all digesters set under both temperature conditions, digester 2 (CDR = 4.6) exhibited the highest performance, producing 44 mL/gVS-added cumulative methane under mesophilic conditions and 182.5 mL/gVS-added under thermophilic conditions. Across all CDRs, thermophilic digesters outperformed mesophilic ones, generating three times more biomethane. The modified Gompertz model effectively described the experimental data, achieving R² values between 0.97 and 1, confirming an excellent fit. Full article

Aqueous phase reforming has been posed as a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production in the framework of the transition to a sustainable energy economy. Since the use of chemical compounds as process feedstock has proven to be one of the major constraints to its potential scalability, several cost-free residual biomasses have been investigated as alternative substrates. This also allows for the recovery of residues, offsetting the significant costs of waste management through conventional treatment. In recent years, different wastes from the food processing industry such as brewery, fish canning, dairy industries, fruit juice extraction, and corn production wastewaters, have taken the attention of scientific community due to their composition, favorable to this process, and its high-water content. However, few and heterogeneous results can be found within the literature, suggesting that the research into this application is now at a stage of development which will require further investigation. Therefore, this work is focused on compiling and discussing the reported studies, aiming to present a critical reflection on the potential of aqueous phase reforming as a means for the valorization of this kind of residue. Full article

Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly known as the oyster mushroom, is a widely cultivated edible mushroom characterized by its nutritional value and health benefits. However, its large-scale production generates significant amounts of agro-industrial by-products, such as stipes, residual mycelium, and spent mushroom substrate (SMS). These by-products are often discarded despite their high content of bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber, β-glucans, polyphenols, ergosterol, and essential minerals. This review provides a critical overview of emerging green extraction technologies (i.e., ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), subcritical water extraction (SWE), enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), and pulsed electric fields (PEF)) as a strategy for the sustainable valorization of bioactive compounds from P. ostreatus by-products. Despite promising results in the extraction of β-glucans and phenolic compounds, industrial scalability remains a challenge due to cost, energy demand, and regulatory issues. In addition, the potential incorporation of these compound by-products into functional food formulations is explored, highlighting their possible applications in meat, bakery, and dairy products. Although notable outcomes have been obtained in the use of the fruiting body as a functional ingredient, further research is needed into the potential use of by-products in order to optimize processing parameters, ensure safety, and validate consumer acceptance. Overall, the sustainable valorization of P. ostreatus by-products represents a dual opportunity to reduce food waste and develop innovative functional ingredients that contribute to health and sustainability. Full article

This research investigates the biosynthesis optimization of the red pigment prodigiosin produced by Serratia marcescens 11E through submerged fermentation utilizing an alternative cheese whey-based medium, focusing on process parameters and antimicrobial properties. Four types of whey sourced from a local dairy industry were characterized, and the fermentation conditions were optimized using Plackett–Burman and central composite design methodologies, yielding up to 1.43 g/L of prodigiosin under optimal conditions, 25 °C, 200 rpm, pH 7, and 48 h of dark incubation, with whey serving as the sole carbon source. Normalization to biomass yielded 110 mg of prodigiosin per gram of dried cell weight (post-optimization), enabling meaningful comparison with prior studies. Pigment extraction was performed with acidic methanol, and identity was confirmed by UV–Vis spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The antimicrobial activity of the purified pigment was also evaluated. Although cheese whey has significant nutritional value, nearly half of the global production is discarded due to high treatment costs. This study demonstrates that whey can be repurposed as a sustainable and economical fermentation medium for pigment production, which is compatible with dairy plants. This makes it a promising solution to address the underutilization of whey by cheese local producers in Mexico. Prodigiosin has diverse industrial applications, including antimicrobial, insecticidal, and antioxidant properties. These findings highlight the potential for dairy waste valorization in a circular bioeconomy, reducing environmental impacts and promoting the creation of valuable bioproducts. Full article

In light of the growing concerns of consumers who are increasingly turning towards healthier food options, both researchers and producers in the food industry are exploring the use of agro-industrial by-products as nutritionally valuable ingredients. This strategy not only enables the development of value-added food products, but also supports sustainability through the valorization of waste. Blackcurrant pomace (BP), a by-product obtained after juice extraction, has been shown to be rich in bioactive compounds, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and anthocyanin pigments. For these reasons, the innovative aspect of the study was its use of different proportions of BP powder, 5%, 10%, and 15%, when obtaining new varieties of stirred yogurt. This study assesses the impact of BP powder on the stirred yogurt’s antioxidant content, physicochemical properties, color, microbiological characteristics, and sensory qualities. The findings showed that BP powder intensified the yogurts’ coloration and considerably improved their antioxidant activity (which ranged from 8.21 ± 0.35 to 21.15 ± 0.49 µmol TE/g DM) and nutritional quality. The panelists’ positive acceptance was confirmed by sensory evaluation, and the 10% BP formulation (DBBP2) was rated as the most favorable. These results show that BP is a valuable ingredient for enhancing dairy products, creating nutritious, appealing yogurts while promoting sustainable food production and valorization of food waste. Full article

Ruminant livestock production faces rising challenges related to feed costs, sustainability, and methane (CH₄) emissions, with the rumen microbiome playing a central role. This study evaluated the effects of processed and unprocessed orange peel waste, valorized as secondary feedstuff, on rumen microbial composition and methanogen abundance in dairy sheep while assessing primer-dependent biases in microbial detection. Eighteen mid-lactation Chios ewes were assigned to three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets: control, 11% processed orange peel, and 11% unprocessed orange peel, over an 84-day trial. Rumen samples collected on days 0 and 84 were analyzed using Oxford Nanopore sequencing with full-length 16S (V1–V9) and prokaryotic (V3–V4) primers. Firmicutes (39.5–58.0%) and Bacteroidota (20.0–37.4%) predominated across diets, while Methanobacteria (6.9–8.8%) were detected exclusively with the prokaryotic primer. Orange peel inclusion attenuated the rise of Proteobacteria in controls and stabilized Prevotella populations. Notably, the processed orange peel diet reduced Methanobacteria abundance by 19.3% (p < 0.05) after 84 days, suggesting enhanced antimethanogenic effects. These results highlight both the methodological relevance of primer selection and the potential of citrus by-products as sustainable feed ingredients that promote rumen microbial stability and contribute to methane mitigation in dairy sheep production. Full article