Search Results (7)

The use of food industry by-products in the production of construction materials is a great method to achieve sustainability and simultaneously reduce cement consumption. The present research analyzes the use of pomegranate seed cakes (untreated, oven-roasted, and microwave-treated), grape seeds, and black cumin seeds for 0–15% cement replacement. In addition, the focus is on the thermal pretreatment methods and their compatibility with the microstructure of the cement, especially microwave processing due to its rapid heating, low energy demand, and improved microstructural compatibility. The outcomes suggest that microwave-treated pomegranate seed cakes resulted in the highest workability stability, lowest slump loss, and most uniform distribution in the cement matrix in comparison to untreated and oven-roasted pomegranate seed cakes. Comprehensive mechanical tests (compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength) and microstructural analyses (SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, BET) were conducted on both raw additives and concrete specimens. Although mechanical performance decreases with increasing organic content, mixtures containing 3–5% bio-modifier provided a favorable balance between workability, strength retention, and microstructural development. Microwave pretreatment not only improved the surface morphology but also made the interface more reactive, and by consuming around 80–85% less energy than the oven roasting, it strengthened the sustainability feature of the process. In a nutshell, the research proves that low-energy thermal pretreatment of food-grade waste can result in functional, eco-efficient cementitious composites, and at the same time, the integration of food engineering principles into environmentally friendly construction material design will become inevitable. Full article

Four biomass residues–rosemary pomace, rosemary cake, grape seed and apple pomace–were torrefied at 250, 350 and 450 °C, and the physical, chemical and structural changes were characterized. The mass and energy yield decreased with increasing torrefaction temperature; the lowest mass (~10.4%) and energy yield (~10.6%) were observed for rosemary cake torrefied at 450 °C. The HHV increased the most for all feedstocks at 350 °C, with rosemary cake reaching a peak value of 36.4 MJ/kg at 350 °C. Ash content increased with temperature due to organic mass loss, while volatiles decreased and fixed carbon increased in most samples. The FTIR spectra showed the progressive loss of hydroxyl, carbonyl and C–O functionalities and the appearance of aromatic C=C bonds, indicating the formation of the biochar. TGA and DTG analyses revealed that the torrefied samples exhibited higher initial and maximum temperatures for decomposition, confirming improved thermal stability. The TGA-FTIR analyses of gas emissions during pyrolysis and combustion showed that the emissions of CO₂, CH₄, NO_x and SO₂ decreased with increasing degree of torrefaction. Overall, 350 °C was optimal to maximize energy density. The results show that agro-industrial residues can be effectively converted into sustainable biofuels, which offer the dual benefit of reducing waste disposal problems and providing a renewable alternative. In practice, such residues could be used for decentralized power generation in rural areas, co-combustion in existing power plants, or as feedstock for advanced bioenergy systems. Full article

Agricultural waste originating from the wine industry presents an environmental and economic issue. Grape seeds, a major constituent of grape pomace, are only partially valorized through oil extraction. The cake remaining after oil production is rich in valuable bioactive compounds. In this study, an advanced extraction technique, which utilizes subcritical water, was employed for bioactive compound recovery from defatted grape seed cakes. Extraction was performed in a nitrogen atmosphere (10 bar) at 130 °C and 170 °C. The extracts were characterized in terms of the total polyphenols, flavonoids, proteins and antioxidant activity. Detailed polyphenol profiles were determined using UHPLC Q-ToF MS analysis. Quantification of the individual sugars was performed by HPLC. The amino acid profile was determined using ion chromatography. The yield of phenolic acids was found to be higher at 170 °C (883 vs. 557 mg/100 g at 130 °C), while the flavonoid content was favored at 130 °C (596 vs. 185 mg/100 g at 170 °C). The total protein, essential amino acid and xylo-oligosaccharide content was higher at 170 °C. The obtained results show that the use of water as the extraction solvent in subcritical conditions is a promising technique for the environmentally friendly valorization of grape seed cakes and biowaste in general. Full article

The objective of this study was to assess the impact that diets supplemented with grape seed cake rich in polyphenols had on lactating goats. The study investigated the quantity and quality of goat milk, the metabolic profile of blood, and the antioxidative status. The study involved 24 French Alpine dairy goats throughout their lactation period. The goats were, on average, 5 years old (±three months) and in the fourth lactation. The experiment lasted for 58 days. The control group (CON) had a diet without grape seed cake (GSC). The experimental groups were given a diet containing 5% and 10% GSC on a dry matter basis (GSC5 and GSC10, respectively). A slightly higher milk production, as well as protein and fat milk content, were found in GSC5 and GSC10, but the differences were not significant. Goat milk in the GSC10 group exhibited significantly higher activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase, as well as decreased concentrations of GUK and SCC. The feeding treatments did not affect significant differences in hematological and biochemical indicators, except for the BHB content, which can be associated with a higher energy value of feed containing GSC. There was an observed elevation in the activity of SOD within the blood of GSC5, and GSC10 was measured as well. The determined changes justify the supplementation of GSC rich in polyphenols to goat feed, especially in the amount of 10%, as it can reduce stress caused by lactation, which is known as a very stressful production period for animals. Full article

Neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by progressive loss in selected areas of the nervous system, are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide due to an aging population. Despite their diverse clinical manifestations, neurodegenerative diseases are multifactorial disorders with standard features and mechanisms such as abnormal protein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation. As there are no effective treatments to counteract neurodegenerative diseases, increasing interest has been directed to the potential neuroprotective activities of plant-derived compounds found abundantly in food and in agrifood by-products. Food waste has an extremely negative impact on the environment, and recycling is needed to promote their disposal and overcome this problem. Many studies have been carried out to develop green and effective strategies to extract bioactive compounds from food by-products, such as peel, leaves, seeds, bran, kernel, pomace, and oil cake, and to investigate their biological activity. In this review, we focused on the potential neuroprotective activity of agrifood wastes obtained by common products widely produced and consumed in Italy, such as grapes, coffee, tomatoes, olives, chestnuts, onions, apples, and pomegranates. Full article

The main aim of this work is to improve the functionality of Nigella sativa protein concentrate (NSPC) films by using grape juice (GJ). The film’s mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities were evaluated. The obtained results showed, for the first time, that GJ at concentrations of 2%–10% (v/v) are able to act as plasticizer for the NSPC films with promising film properties. The results showed that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of NSPC films were reduced significantly when the GJ increased. However, the NSPC films prepared with 6% GJ observed a higher elongation at break compared with other films. Moreover, the obtained films showed very interesting and promising results for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties compared with the control films. The sweet cherries wrapped with NSPC film showed that the TSS (Brix) was significantly lower compared to the control, after 10 days of storage. However, the titratable acidity, pH value, and L* of all cherries, either wrapped or not, was not significantly different in all storage times. On the other hand, hue angle was significantly lower after 10 days of storage at −18 °C compared with control films. GJ has a multi-functional effect for protein-based films as plasticizer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial function. Full article

The floating system is a successful strategy for producing baby leaf vegetables. Moreover, compost from agricultural and agri-food industry wastes is an alternative to peat that can be used as a component of growing media in this cultivation system. In this study, we experimented with three composts containing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), leek (Allium porrum L.), grape (Vitis vinifera L.), and/or olive (Olea europaea L.) mill cake residues, which were used as the main component (75/25 volume/volume) of three growing media (GM1, GM2 and GM3) to evaluate their effect on the growth and quality of red baby leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). We used a commercial peat substrate as a control treatment (100% volume) and in mixtures (25% volume) with the composts. The plants were cultivated over two growing cycles, in spring and summer, and harvested twice in each cycle when the plants had four to five leaves. We found that the percentage of seed germination was significantly higher in plants grown in peat than in those grown in compost growing media. The yield was affected by the growing media in the summer cycle, and we obtained the highest value with GM1. Furthermore, the second cut was more productive than the first one for all the growing media in both cycles. The lettuce quality was also affected by the growing media. In general, the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity in the leaves was higher in plants grown in the compost growing media, particularly in the second cut, but the nitrate content in the leaves was greater in some of the compost treatments compared with the peat treatment. In addition, an in vitro suppressive activity study demonstrated that the interaction between different fungi and bacteria observed through metagenomics analysis could contribute to the effectiveness of the compost in controlling Pythium irregulare. The use of compost as a component of the growing media in the production of baby leaf vegetables in a floating system does not only favor the crop yield and product quality, but also shows suppressive effects against P. irregulare. Full article