Beatriz Gullón

University of Vigo | UVIGO

Currently, the majority of chemicals and energy are derived from fossil fuel-based resources. The continued depletion of these fossil resources and their attributed negative environmental impacts have boosted the search for green and renewable feedstock. In this context, lignocellulosic biomass has been identified as a sustainable alternative raw m...

Melon peels can be a low-cost raw material for the production of bioethanol due to its high worldwide production and contents in cellulose, protein and minerals. In this work, several strategies were proposed for this purpose. Centrifugation of the raw material and autohydrolysis of the washed solid were used as pretreatment for the recovery of a s...

Potato peel waste (PPW) is a starchy by-product generated in great amounts during the industrial processing of potatoes. It can be used as a low cost alternative, and renewable feedstock for the production of second generation bioethanol. In order to intensify this process, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ethanol Red®, a robust and thermotolerant yeast st...

Barley straw was subjected to hydrothermal pretreatment (steam explosion) processing to evaluate its potential as a raw material to produce xylooligosaccharides (XOS) suitable for use as a prebiotic. The steam explosion pretreatment generated a liquid fraction containing solubilised hemicellulose. This fraction was purified using gel permeation chr...

Microwave hydrothermal treatment (MHT) is considered a sustainable technology for the valorization of lignocellulosic materials, enabling the solubilization of hemicellulosic-derived compounds, especially in the form of oligosaccharides that may present potential in the chemical, pharmaceutical or nutraceutical industries. Hence, MHT at 200 and 230...

Microwave-assisted autohydrolysis is an environmentally friendly intensification technology that permits the selective solubilization of hemicelluloses in form of oligosaccharides in a short time and with low energy consumption. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the suitability of microwave-assisted autohydrolysis to produce oligosaccharides...

Avocado peels are the main agro-industrial residue generated during the avocado processing, being a rich source of bioactive compounds like phenolic compounds. The growing demand for more sustainable processes requires the development of new and effective methods for extracting bioactive compounds from industrial waste. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs...

The industrial processing of avocado to extract oil, and produce guacamole or sauces generates enormous quantities of peels and seeds (around 2 million tons worldwide in 2019) without commercially valuable applications. However, various studies have suggested the presence of a wide range of interesting compounds in the composition of these by-produ...

The agri-food industry generates large quantities of by-products, both of animal and vegetable origin, which are currently discarded or destined to low-value-added applications [...]

This work evaluates the purification of melon peel extracts obtained by two eco-friendly methods: autohydrolysis and sodium acetate/urea/water extraction (1:3:1.6), an alkaline deep eutectic solvent (DES). For that, sequential ethanol precipitation and resin adsorption/desorption stages were proposed for the separate recovery of the pectic and phen...

Fish is regarded as a healthy animal-derived food owing to its remarkable content in macro and micronutrients, which results in a large consumption by humans. Consequently, fishery-related industries generate huge amounts of byproducts that are frequently used to manufacture low-value products or are even discarded. Nevertheless, these marine deriv...

The aim of this study is the development of an automated method for myeloperoxidase activity evaluation and its application in testing the inhibitory action of different plant extracts on the activity of the enzyme. This enzyme has its concentration increased in inflammatory and infectious processes, so it is a possible target to limit these proces...

The purpose of this review was to collect relevant chemical data about lycopene and its isomers, which can be extracted using different non-polar or polar aprotic solvents by SC-CO2 or biosynthesis as a friendly technique. Lycopene and other carotenoids can be identified and quantified by UV–Vis and HPLC using a C18 or C30 column, while their chara...

The processing and valorization of hemicellulose fraction biomass from lignocellulosic material, it is an important alternative in these days for the production of high added value compounds and bioenergy in terms of biorefinery philosophy and impacting the development of the circular bioeconomy. For this reason, the development of processes at pil...

Lignocellulosic wastes have the ability to be transformed into oligosaccharides and other value-added products. The synthesis of oligosaccharides from renewable sources bestow to growing bioeconomies. Oligosaccharides are synthesized chemically or biologically from agricultural residues. These oligosaccharides are functional food supplements that h...

An eco-friendly sodium acetate/urea (NaOAc:urea:water) deep eutectic solvent (DES) was evaluated for the extraction of bioactive compounds from melon peels. Melon peels were first extracted with water to separate the water-insoluble solids (WIS) from free sugars, and the WIS were subsequently extracted with the DES. The extracts were analyzed for o...

Nowadays, the potato is one of the most cultivated and consumed food crops in the world and, in recent years, its production has experienced a sharp increase. Its industrial processing generates several by-products that are wasted and cause economic and environmental problems. Among them, potato peel stands out, representing up to 10% of the total...

The development of lignocellulosic biorefineries requires a first stage of pretreatment which enables the efficient valorization of all fractions present in this renewable material. In this sense, this review aims to show the main advantages of hydrothermal treatment as a first step of a biorefinery infrastructure using hardwood as raw material, as...

Natural bioactive compounds from food waste have fomented interest in food and pharmaceutical industries for the past decade. In this work, it purposed the recovery of bioactive avocado peel extract using an environmentally friendly technique: the ultrasound assisted extraction. The response surface methodology was applied in order to optimize the...

Avocado industrial processing generates huge quantities of residues that are currently wasted without any valuable commercial application. This work deals with autohydrolysis of Avocado peel (AP) for the concomitant recovery of oligosaccharides and polyphenolics. Temperature of 150 °C allowed the highest recovery of oligosaccharides (14.3 g oligosa...

In the last decades, the interest in new food products with improved functional properties that promote health benefits is growing. Agri-food by-products constitute an excellent bio-resource to obtain new prebiotics and functional oligosaccharides. Particularly, pectin-rich agricultural by-products are potential cost-effective sources of functional...

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821233-2.00004-6

There are exponential growth demands for animal products with the increasing population, which has proposed changes in the livestock sector. This chapter discusses the environmental problems that threaten the sustainability of animal production systems, and evaluates different technologies to solve this issue. Artificial insemination (AI) and cross...

This study deals with the multiproduct valorization of the invasive macroalgae Sargassum muticum within a green biorefinery concept using microwave hydrothermal treatment. Temperatures of 160 and 180 °C for 0-60 minutes (severities 1.62-3.54) were evaluated, allowing a recovery of a liquid phase rich in fucoidan-derived compounds (up to 4.81 g/L),...

Microwave hydrothermal treatment (MHT), a novel advanced technology, was proposed for the fractionation of Paulownia wood (PW) at temperatures ranging 200-230 °C and residence times of 0-50 min, corresponding to severities of 2.93-4.70. This procedure allowed 80% of xylan recovery as xylooligosaccharides and an average of 95% cellulose recovery in...

The author wishes to make the following correction to this paper [...]

Date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) has traditionally been grown in South-West Asia and North Africa, principally for date fruit consumption. Nevertheless, its cultivation has recently spread to other areas of America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and Southern Europe. During date fruit processing, several by-products are generated, like low-quality...

In recent years, considerable importance is given to the use of agri-food wastes as they contain several groups of substances that are useful for the development of functional foods. As muscle foods are prone to lipid and protein oxidation and perishable in nature, the industry is in constant search of synthetic-free additives that help in retardin...

In recent years, the consumption of avocado (as fresh fruit or processed) has experienced a sharp increase worldwide due to its nutritional value and beneficial health effects. Its industrial processing generates huge amounts of underused by-products, mainly peel and seed, causing important environmental and economic problems. However, these wastes...

Biorefineries are an operational processing strategy similar to classic petroleum biorefineries in the production of energy and products. However, the biorefineries use renewable sources (biomass) as feedstock. In these days, the biorefineries of second generation from lignocellulosic biomass are a promising strategy in the production of high added...

Background Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) represents the largest cultivated member of the Cucurbitaceae family, showing great relevance from the economic point of view and largely consumed throughout the Mediterranean basin. It is characterized by several bioactive compounds, showing different chemical structures, such as carotenoids, xanthophyll...

The extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials, such as eggplant, has been commonly carried out using classical extraction processes, based on solid-liquid extraction such as hydrodistillation and Soxhlet extraction. However, a series of disadvantages of these methods, such as long operating times or excessive organic solvents consumpti...

Food by-products contain a remarkable source of bioactive molecules with many benefits for humans; therefore, their exploitation can be an excellent opportunity for the food sector. Moreover, the revalorization of these by-products to produce value-added compounds is considered pivotal for sustainable growth based on a circular economy. Traditional...

Background The perishable nature of fruits and vegetables makes their shelf-life limited. Environmental factors, transportation and preservation conditions through postharvest could decrease the storage time and quality. Therefore, prolonging supply time of fruits and vegetables by safer postharvest treatments direct the preservation methods to edi...

In this work, a delignification process, using lime (Ca(OH)2) as an alternative alkali, was evaluated to improve enzymatic saccharification of corn stover cellulose, with the final goal of obtaining second-generation bioethanol. For that, an experimental design was conducted in order to assay the effect of temperature, lime loading, and time on the...

Application of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) including silver (Ag), copper oxide (CuO), and zinc oxide (ZnO) has been individually investigated in a polyethylene matrix. Since the antibacterial agents have various mechanisms of action, a combinational system incorporating different NPs would be beneficial to increase the antibacterial activity throu...

Phenolic compounds have received significant attention both by the consumers and scientific community in the last decades because of their wide range of beneficial health effects. The efficient extraction of these biocompounds from natural sources remains an important challenge because of the intrinsic limitations of the traditional extraction meth...

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a promising technology to obtain high-quality, long-lasting milk and dairy products with fresh-like characters. This technology can inactivate most microorganisms, but also certain dairy enzymes affecting product safety. There are no systematic reports on the different quality and safety features of PEF-processed dair...

Melon by-products, that currently lack high value-added applications, could be a sustainable source of bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides and antioxidants. In this work, melon peels were extracted with water to remove free sugars, and the water-insoluble solids (WISs) were subjected to hydrothermal processing. The effect of temperature on...

Anthocyanins are polyphenolic compounds belonging to the group of flavonoids in charge of providing red, purple, and blue colourations to different parts of trees and plants, such as leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, and stems. These substances have potential health benefits due to characteristics such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,...

Corn stover is the most produced byproduct from maize worldwide. Since it is generated as a residue from maize harvesting, it is an inexpensive and interesting crop residue to be used as a feedstock. An ecologically friendly pretreatment such as autohydrolysis was selected for the manufacture of second-generation bioethanol from corn stover via who...

The biorefinery concept integrates the production of energy and bioproducts from biomass. In this philosophy, barley straw samples were used as raw material for the production of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) mixtures from soluble hemicelluloses by steam-explosion pretreatment. This fraction was treated by ion-exchange (XOS1) and a combination of memb...

Background From ancient times, some plants have been used in folk medicine due to their natural origin and their recognized health benefits. Fruits, leaves, pits and pollen from Phoenix dactylifera have been included for the treatment of different health diseases and disorders, since they are an important source of bioactive compounds that are main...

Exhausted olive pomace (EOP) is the waste generated from the drying and subsequent extraction of residual oil from the olive pomace. In this work, the effect of different aqueous solvents on the recovery of antioxidant compounds from this lignocellulosic biomass was assessed. Water extraction was selected as the best option for recovering bioactive...

The enzymatic polymerization of rutin has been proved as an efficient method for obtaining products with enhanced properties, but toxic organic co-solvents are often involved in this process. In this work, the effect of temperature and enzyme activity were initially studied on 24 h batch oligomerization reactions in organic-free reaction media. The...

Background In the last years, the consumption of olive oil has experienced a sharp rise due to its organoleptic and healthy properties and with this the wastes and by-products derived from the olive production and the olive oil industry have also increased causing important environmental and economic issues. However, the high content in bioactive c...

From ancient times, the medicinal properties of the different Eucalyptus species are well known. In fact, plants from this family have been used in folk medicine as antiseptics, and to treat different ailments of the upper respiratory tract such as sinus congestion, common cold, or influenza. Moreover, other biological activities were described for...

The use of synthetic antioxidants in the food industry has raised important questions about the effects of prolonged consumption on human health. On top of that, the consumption of meat products has been changing due to the awareness generated by health-related organizations. In this sense, exploring strategies to develop and produce healthier meat...

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are used traditionally in the brewing industry to confer bitterness, aroma, and flavor to beer. However, in recent years, it has been reported that female inflorescences contain a huge variety of bioactive compounds. Due to the growing interest of the consumers by natural ingredients, intense research has been carried out...

A growing interest in green bio‐refining technology using ultrasound to extract high‐added value compounds has been observed in the last decades. Therefore, it is of critical importance to consider the impact of the ultrasound technology on the efficiency of oil extraction from seeds as well as on the properties of extracted oils. The cavitation ph...

The steady advance of medical science, as well as a greater interest of the population for health and wellbeing related aspects, are leading to a considerable increase in life expectancy. The population aging is associated with cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disabilities such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. These disorders are...

In the last few years, the consumer’s concern with the relationship between health and diet has led to the search of foods with functional properties beyond the nutritional. In this framework, the consumption of pomegranate has increased due to their sensorial attributes and remarkable amounts of bioactive compounds, which generate, at the same tim...

In the last years, the consumption of meat products is associated with a higher incidence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The outstanding profile of seaweeds in nutritive and bioactive compounds turns them into promising candidates to formulate healthy products. Accordingly, due to the increasing interest of consumers by new functional...

In this work, valorization of Paulownia wood (PW) was proposed following several process configurations for biofuels and value-added compounds production. Firstly, autohydrolysis and ethanol-organosolv strategies were assessed separately for the fractionation of PW to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose. A third strategy focused on a s...

There is a growing trend towards healthy meat products with a reduced amount of saturated fats becoming a challenging task from an industrial point of view. Edible oleogels have emerged as a response to replace animal fat with vegetable oils structured by organogelators. Monoglicerides, natural waxes, phytosteroles and ethylcellulose are the main o...

Background Worldwide, huge amounts of by-products and wastes are generated in agri-food sector annually. This biomass is usually discarded provoking serious environmental problems. However, these residues represent an excellent source of bioactive compounds so that their exploitation can be considered as a promising possibility from an economic and...

A biorefinery scheme for the valorization of horse chestnut biowastes (a municipal solid waste) into added value bioactive compounds is proposed in this work. The bur fraction of horse chestnut was evaluated as a novel and cheap renewable feedstock to obtain valuable compounds suitable for their use in industrial applications. The integrated valori...

In this research, the sorption isotherms of seven brands of commercial dry-cured ham with different chemical composition were assessed simulating the conditions of storage at three temperatures. For this purpose, the dry-cured hams were chemically analyzed and their sorption isotherms were determined at 7, 17 and 27 °C through the static gravimetri...

Background Meat and meat products have been recently perceived by consumers as unhealthy foods. To avoid this drawback, the reformulation is a feasible approach that allows obtaining custom meat-based products that incorporate compounds with certain beneficial properties for health and remove other attributes considered negative. In this framework,...

Nowadays, fruit and vegetable industries generate huge amounts of under-utilized by-products with a great economic potential. The processing by-products account from 25 up to 60% of the weight of the fruit and would be mainly made of skin and lower percentages of pulp and seeds. All their fractions present an interesting chemical composition and th...

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a worldwide culinary ingredient and the second most important vegetable crop. Hence, the amount of onion solid waste (OSW) is really abundant and constitutes an environmental problem due to its pungent odour and the proliferated growth of phytopathogens. However, the content of flavonol quercetin and fructooligosaccharides...

Purple corn (Zea mays L.) is used for the preparation of traditional drinks and desserts, generating great quantities of residues. The scarce information about purple corn cob (PCC) is encouraging an interest in exploring its potential as a valuable source of bioactive compounds with benefits for human health. In this study, a green method based on...

The society and industrial sectors are facing important challenges regarding the production of bioproducts influenced by social responsibility and environmental consequences. Biorefinery development reports two important goals in the transition towards a bio-based economy: (i) the displacement of fossil-based products by biomass-based ones and (ii)...

Currently, interest in finding new feedstock as sources of natural food antioxidants is growing. The extracted olive pomace (EOP), which is an agro-industrial residue from the olive pomace extracting industries, is generated yearly in big amounts, mainly in the Mediterranean countries. EOP was subjected to an ultrasound assisted extraction with eth...

Leaf extracts of Eucalyptus globulus present a wide range of phenolic compounds with interest in the pharmaceutical , health, agricultural, cosmetic and food industries because of their medicinal properties. Although conventional solvent extraction is the most extensively used methodology to extract and isolate these active compounds, the excessive...

Rutin (quercetin-3-O-glycoside) has been demonstrated to possess beneficial properties for preventing various diseases. However, this compound shows poor solubility in water, thus implying scarce bioavailability, and low thermal stability [1]. The enzymatic polymerization of rutin has been proved as an efficient method for obtaining products with e...

Rutin (quercetin-3-O-glycoside) has been demonstrated to possess beneficial properties for preventing various diseases. However, this compound shows poor solubility in water, thus implying scarce bioavailability, and low thermal stability [1]. It has been proved that the enzymatic polymerization of rutin represents an efficient method for enhancing...

Vine shoots were hydrothermally processed and the effect of the different assayed severities on the subsequent enzymatic saccharification of the remaining solids was evaluated. The solid obtained at a severity of 4.47 showed the highest yield on glucose (74.01%)and therefore, it was used as the substrate for the obtaining of bio-ethanol through a S...

Among lignocellulosic materials, chestnut shells (CNS) are a rejected feedstock from agro-food industry with promising possibilities as a suitable raw material to be used in a biorefinery scheme. The aim of this work was to optimize the alkaline delignification of CNS for the co-production of lignin and bio-ethanol. Under the optimal conditions (7....

In the food industry, the brewing sector holds a strategic economic position since beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. Brewing process involves the production of a large amount of lignocellulosic residues such as barley straw from cereal cultivation and brewer's spent grains. This study was aimed at developing a full-scale bi...

Vine shoots were subjected to a hydrothermal treatment to cause the selective solubilisation of the hemicelluloses. The hemicelluloses solubilisation products were refined by a sequential processing with nanofiltration and ion exchange obtaining a refined product with a purity of 99%. A depth chemical and structural characterization of the purified...