Minimally processed beetroot waste as an alternative source to obtain functional ingredients.

Large amounts of waste are generated by the minimally processed vegetables industry, such as those from beetroot processing. The aim of this study was to determine the best method to obtain flour from minimally processed beetroot waste dried at different temperatures, besides producing a colorant from such waste and assessing its stability along 45 days. Beetroot waste dried at 70 °C originates flour with significant antioxidant activity and higher betalain content than flour produced from waste dried at 60 and 80 °C, while chlorination had no impact on the process since microbiological results were consistent for its application. The colorant obtained from beetroot waste showed color stability for 20 days and potential antioxidant activity over the analysis period, thus it can be used as a functional additive to improve nutritional characteristics and appearance of food products. These results are promising since minimally processed beetroot waste can be used as an alternative source of natural and functional ingredients with high antioxidant activity and betalain content.

Evaluation of bioactive compounds, chemical and technological properties of fruits byproducts powder.

Millions of tons of fruit byproducts are discarded globally every day by food processing industries, which represents a considerable loss in terms of nutrients. The goal of this work was to evaluate the physico-chemical, technological, antioxidant properties and characterization of carotenoids for papaya, pineapple, olive byproducts and anthocyanins for blueberry byproducts. The results indicated that these byproducts are good sources of total dietary fiber, especially olive byproducts (53.68%). The powder from papaya byproducts showed the highest values for the technological characteristics of water holding capacity (8.93 g water/g powder) and solubility (59.91%). All of the powders exhibited a good ability to reduce Folin Ciocalteu reagent and a high DPPH radical scavenging capacity, especially the powder from blueberry byproducts, which also exhibited a high level of anthocyanins (2063.4 mg/100 g). The carotenoid content was highest in the papaya powder sample, followed by the pineapple and olive powders. The results of this study indicate the high potential application of these powder byproducts as functional ingredients in food products because they can be considered a good source of antioxidant compounds.