PROValue: developing non-conventional processes for cascade valorization of fruits and their byproducts

• Grant number: 24/03269-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Duration: October 01, 2024 - September 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Carregari Polachini
• Grantee: Tiago Carregari Polachini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Jessica Thaís do Prado Silva

Abstract

The growing interest by assuming a healthier and sustainable lifestyle has driven studies for valorizing food products and processes. In this sense, this proposal is focused on creating a research Group for Processes and Products Valorization (G4Pro) based on non-conventional approaches. Due to the high consumption of fruits, the improvement of the cascade processes involving fruit and underused byproducts processing is the main focus of the group to meet this demand. For this, non-conventional techniques such as ultrasound (US), pulsed-electric fields (PEF) and/or germination will be assessed in different steps of processing: phenolic compounds extraction; lipids extraction, plant-based protein and food formulation. For fruits processing, the production of Brazilian green table olives will be evaluated as an emerging crop and product in Brazil. The mechanisms of debittering will be studied for better understanding as well as the effect of US and PEF on the mass transfer processes. As a consequence of the byproducts generation from fruit processing industry, the valorization of fruit seeds will be aimed through biorefinery approaches and germination. On the one hand, the different added-value fractions existing in the fruit seeds (bioactives, lipids, proteins and fibers) will be obtained through more sustainable processes. The quality of each fraction will be also analyzed. On the other hand, fruit seeds can germinate with the aid of US and PEF to produce new foods (e.g. sprouts and sprouted seeds) but also to produce metabolites of interest (e.g. enzymes). The ingredients and final products obtained in each step can be used to formulate new food products and biomaterials to be evaluated according to the physicochemical, structural, techno-functional and/or sensory properties. The results can serve to improve conventional process, develop new destination to underused raw material at the same time strengthening the circular bioeconomy. (AU)