New active ingredients from avocado oil residues

• Grant number: 21/10252-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Thais Maria Ferreira de Souza Vieira
• Grantee: Thais Maria Ferreira de Souza Vieira
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Juliana Maria Leite Nobrega de Moura Bell ; Thiago Libório Romanelli

Abstract

As the demand for clean label foods has increased, industries have become interested in rethinking food formulations currently on the market. The demand for products from environmentally friendly sources has forced both the food industry and the academic community to seek alternatives to synthetic antioxidants such as BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. On the same hand, oil processing from different vegetable sources generates a significant amount of waste. The residues generated during the production of avocado oil are promising sources of active compounds, with potential application in the food and cosmetic industries, due to the high content of phenolic compounds, functional properties and antioxidant capacity presented. Despite their numerous applications, the achievement of these compounds of interest should be studied in a holistic way, in which all steps of the process are efficient and environmentally friendly. The objective of this project is to develop processes for the recovery of antioxidants from the mentioned residues, adding value to discarded materials, increasing the knowledge about the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of products derived from slaughter oil extraction residues in lipid emulsion. For this purpose, optimization of combined methods will be applied to select the extraction conditions that allow the maximum extraction of the compounds of interest with reduced use of energy and materials. To reach application results in model systems, microparticles will be produced from the extracts and added to emulsions for the determinations of effects on oxidation. Since this is a project to improve food quality, the exploration of a new ingredient, which can be produced in Brazil, opens the possibility for the development of new initiatives in the country. Furthermore, all the efforts to ensure that ingredients and additives are always improved, aiming at the final consumer, are related to the well-being and health of the population, allied to the valorization of materials that are still treated as residues by the production sector. (AU)