article · Preparative Biochemistry & Biotechnology
This review provides an integrated assessment of the entire process for extracting valuable bioactive compounds from fruit peel waste, which constitutes a significant portion of global fruit production. It critically evaluates methods for extraction, purification, characterisation, biological evaluation, and application. The review highlights that ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction significantly reduce processing time and solvent use, while supercritical CO2 extraction offers selectivity but is costly. Purification is identified as the least standardised step, with resin adsorption and membrane separation being the most scalable options. A key challenge for translating these compounds into practical use is bioavailability, as efficacy is often demonstrated at concentrations higher than achievable in the body. This work aims to assist researchers in food science, analytical chemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences by integrating these stages and identifying barriers to industrial and clinical translation.
This research is important because it addresses the significant problem of fruit peel waste by identifying ways to extract valuable compounds. By improving extraction and purification processes, it could lead to new uses for agricultural by-products, benefiting both the environment and various industries.
The review identifies pathways for valorising fruit peel waste into commercially valuable products, such as food additives, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics, by extracting polyphenols, carotenoids, and enzymes. Potential users include food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. The focus on overcoming challenges like bioavailability and standardisation suggests this is early-stage research, aiming to guide future development towards practical applications.
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Global fruit production reached 953.8 million tonnes in 2024, generating peel residues of 15%–50% of fruit weight that are largely discarded despite containing polyphenols, carotenoids, dietary fiber, and enzymes of commercial value. Existing reviews address this in fragments, covering extraction, green solvents, or food applications alone, but none traces the full pipeline from raw peel to finished product. This review provides an integrated, critically evaluated assessment of the entire valorization chain: extraction, purification, characterization, biological evaluation, and application. Rather than cataloguing methods, we compare them against yield, solvent use, energy demand, environmental impact, and scalability. Ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction cut processing time by 70%–95% and solvent use by 50%–90%, while supercritical CO2 extraction offers selectivity for non-polar compounds at high cost. Purification is the least standardized step, with resin adsorption and membrane separation most scalable. Characterization suffers from inconsistent validation, with detection limits, recovery, and matrix effects often unreported. Peel bioactives act through defined pathways (NF-κB, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, apoptosis, Nrf2, AMPK/GLUT4), yet efficacy is often shown at concentrations exceeding achievable plasma levels, making bioavailability the principal translational barrier. This review will be valuable to researchers in food science, analytical chemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences by integrating these traditionally different stages and identifying the key challenges that limit industrial and clinical translation.
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DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2026.2710763
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