Valorization of Plant-Based Food By-Products Through Green Extraction of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Food
Cristina-Anca Danciu, Alina-Georgeta Mag, Cristian Stanciu, Livia Vidu, M. Stanciu
Abstract
The revalorization of food processing by-products represents a critical strategy for enhancing resource efficiency and advancing circularity within the food system. This review examines the potential of three major plant-based agro-industrial by-products-fruit and vegetable residues, brewer's spent grain, and spent coffee grounds-as sources of high-value functional ingredients. These by-products contain bioactive compounds, including dietary fibers, polyphenols, proteins, peptides, oils, and antioxidants, that can be recovered using emerging green extraction and bioprocessing technologies. Conventional extraction methods are progressively being replaced or hybridized with enzyme-assisted, ultrasound-assisted, microwave-assisted, and deep eutectic solvent techniques to improve yield, reduce solvent consumption, and preserve bioactivity. The recovered compounds have demonstrated promising applications as gelling agents (pectin), natural colorants and antioxidants, protein-enriched flours, prebiotic fibers, and bioactive extracts for functional food and nutraceutical formulations. However, challenges persist in standardizing feedstock composition, scaling continuous extraction processes, ensuring safety and regulatory compliance, and generating robust techno-economic and life-cycle assessments to validate sustainability claims. This review synthesizes biochemical composition data, processing pathways, food applications, and regulatory considerations, and identifies research priorities for developing integrated, scalable biorefinery models that valorize food by-products into market-ready functional ingredients.