Further Neutraceuticals - Supplements as well as Valuable Biochemicals can be Obtained from Extraction of Various Food Processing Wastes

The food processing and beverage industry is somewhat related to human health supplements that are manufactured by various companies. For example, in the wine making industry part of the waste pulp called must, can be recycled as grape seed extract as grape seeds consitute a large portion of the waste pulp. Grape seed extract has been shown to contain healthy compounds such as procyanidins. There are a slew of other industries related to food processing which can recycle the pulp or waste and recover these healthy biochemicals to be used as further health supplements. A few other examples include the tomato juice and apple juice/cider industries. In order to produce a lot of juice either from tomatoes or apples, a lot of pulp is produced in the process. The peels, seeds and other parts of tomato pulp have been shown to contain very healthful compounds such as fibre, proteins and antioxidants as well as containing healthful biochemicals such as lycopene, other phenolics and ascorbic acid [ 1. Lavelli et al 2011 ]. Tomatoes themselves are often processed just to recover the lycopene that is sold as tomato powder extract. However, it does make sense to use the processed waste to produce tomato health extracts instead of using the whole tomatoes themselves. The tomato skin itself is said to have over 10 times the amount of lycopene, if processes were put in place at food processing plants to recover tomato skins that aren't used in products such as tomato juice, they could be used to more efficiently make tomato powder extract. The same situation exists with apple processing waste which is termed apple pomace. In fact, apple pomace itself has a lot of potential applications other than further biochemical extraction processes. It can be used in further fermentations, used to make animal feed, compost material, etc. In the context of extracting biochemicals, apple pomace may be used to extract chemicals called pectins which are used in a variety of products and which have further potential uses. Therefore apple pomace can be processed for healthful materials such as fiber and minerals as well as biochemicals which include polyphenols and pectins [ 2. Djiles et al 2009 ].

The use of citrus waste from processing, similar to apple pomace, can also be valuable in extracting healthful biochemicals. From citrus fruits, the seeds, peels and stones can be recovered and have potential value. Citrus material also contain chemicals such as polyphenols, flavanoids, fibre, vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals. The citrus peels themselves constitute a large portion of citrus waste and are commonly processed into other chemicals (via fermentation). Other fruits such as berries also have healthful compounds known as anthocyanidins or proanthocyanidins. In general, the waste or pulp material from the fruit industry all contain healthful compounds which can be recovered and used as further health supplements or in other products. Another food processing area of interest in recovering waste material is shrimp cultivation. There are an increasing amount of inland shrimp facilities in the US, and shrimp cultivation is also increasing around the world due to receding coastlines in low altitude countries where shrimp farming can be substituted for rice cultivation. During shrimp processing the heads are often thrown away as well as the skins or tails sometimes. The processing of shrimp heads, tails and skins can recover a very usable biomaterial called chitin as well as produce shrimp hydrosylate from the decomposition of protein material. Shrimp waste can either be heat or chemically treated as well as go through fermentation with bacteria. The shrimp hydrosylate, full of proteins, could be similar to shrimp powder which is often used in a variety of Asian and Mexican foods. In fact, it has been shown that shrimp hydrosylate has a high protein content of around 80 % or more and also has a high essential amino acid content [ 3. Cao et al 2009 ]. Overall, the waste material from food processing can be further processed to bring forth more healthful compounds or other chemicals of interest that are used in our everyday products. They can be used in further fermentation processes which also produce other valuable biochemicals. Such recycling of materials such as grape or tomato waste can produce valuable neutraceuticals without using the whole fruit itself unnecessarily. Other compounds such as chitin or pectins can be recovered for biomaterials as well as recovering chemicals such as polyphenols or producing hydrosylate simultaneously.

1. "Modeling the stability of lycopene rich byproducts of tomato processing", Food Chemistry Vol 125 No 2 pgs 529-535 [2011] by V. Lavelli, MC Torresani

2. "By-Products of Fruits Processing as a source of Phytochemicals", Chemical Industry and Chemical Engineering Quarterly vol 15 No 4 pgs 191-202 [2009] by S. Djiles, V. Canadanovic-Brunet, G. Cotkovic

3. "Autolysis of shrimp head by gradual temperature and nutritional quality of the resulting hydrosylate", LWT - Food Science and Technology Vol 42 pgs 244-249 [2009] by W. Cao, C. Zhang, P.Hong, H. Ji, J. Hao, J.Zhang

KEYWORDS: Human Health Supplements from Food Processing Waste, Shrimp hydrosylate, Apple Pomace, Grape Must, Grape Seed Extract, Tomato Powder Extract, Lycopene, Polyphenols, Pectins, Chitin, Citrus peels, skins and stones, Biochemical Extraction of Food Processing Waste

Fungi and Algae Production of Ethylene Could be an Alternative source of Biobased Plastic Feedstock

Natural gas compounds such as ethylene and propylene are normally produced from natural gas liquids that are first isolated from petroleum refineries. The ethylene or propylene is then converted into plastic resins, which are the starting materials to produce common plastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The refineries that process natural gas liquids into ethylene or propylene are called steam cracking plants of which there are estimated to be over 40 in the US in states like Texas and Louisiana. As mentioned above, natural gas liquids must first be isolated from petroleum refineries and then delivered to the steam cracking plants. When the natural gas liquids are steam treated they break down into products like olefins, propylene and ethylene. Both propylene and ethylene produce plastics as mentioned above, however, ethylene is produced at a much higher percentage. Scientists in past decades have worked on methods to produce ethylene directly from alternative sources such as bacteria, fungi and even algae. Microbes and algae can also produce other manufacturing type gases such as hydrogen. Ethylene is also produced by plants but it is usually produced as a result of fruit ripening. Even certain common types of fungi can also produce ethylene. If ethylene is made by microorganisms in measurable amounts that are useful for the manufacture of products, they may be useful for the prodution of ethylene gas. It was found that around 25 % of fungi samples from over 200 varieties of fungi produced measurable amounts (~ 1 ppm or greater) of ethylene gas as a metabolic byproduct [ Ilag L. et al 1968 ]. Ethylene production has even been measured from soil samples containing bacteria or fungi, also in measurable quantities, mostly from fungi though [ Lynch 1972 ].

Even though many types of fungi, algae and microbes can produce ethylene in measurable quantities, it is prudent to just choose the species that can make ethylene in high quantities. Under natural conditions a fungi species can make over 100 ppm of ethylene gas [ Ilag et al 1968 ]. Just imagine what quantities could be produced from genetically engineered varieties. As with Hydrogen, microbes or algae can be genetically manipulated in order to produce ethylene in better amounts of more efficiently. Algae species such as Synechocytis have been genetically manipulated with ethylene response genes that may be similar to plant sources such as Arabidopsis [ Wilde et al 1997 ]. The amount of ethylene produced from algae such as this have then been monitored in heterotrophic conditions (minimal light). Similar growth conditions have been done with algae in order to produce hydrogen gas. In fact, algae can be grown in light or dark conditions in order to produce hydrogen. The idea of microbes, yeast and algae producing manufacturing gases such as ethylene and hydrogen is a novel concept and may be a realistic option dependent upon economics and engineering improvements. Microbes can even produce other valuable hydrocarbon based gases such as isoprene. Isoprene is usually a liquid based hydrocarbon but is also volatile under the right conditions. It is used to make products like rubber. In summary, gaseous sources of biomass from microbes may be logical alternative sources someday to help produce alternative products like plastics, with ethylene being a prime example.

REFERENCES

1. "Production of Ethylene by Fungi", Science vol 159 pg. 1357 - 1358, 1968, Ilag L., Curtis R.

2. "Identification of Substrates and Isolation of Microorganisms Responsible for Ethylene Production", Nature vol 240 pg 45-46, 1972, Lynch

3. SAME AS REFERENCE #1

4. FEBS Letters vol 406 issue 1-2, pg 89-92, 1997, Wilde A, Churin Y. Schubert H.

Photos taken from Web Album of Picasa

KEYWORDS: Fungi Production of Ethylene, Bioplastics, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Ethylene Response Genes, Synechocystis, Isoprene, Rubber,
Algal and Microbial Hydrogen Production, Steam Cracking Plants, Hetereotrophic Fermentation

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PHB (Polyhydroxybutyrates) from Bioenergy Plants like Sugarcane & Corn

The use of PHAs (Polyhydroxyalkoanates) also known as PHBs (Polyhydroxybutyrates - are a subset of PHAs) used as a bioplastic material may become more of a reality due to the drastic drop in prices that are payed per pound of the material. PHBs are becoming competitive with another bioplastic material called PLA (Polylactic acid). In fact, the price per pound of each material has dropped by more than four times their former price within the last 5 years. Both materials can be produced from a variety of sources, which may explain its drop in price, but they are mostly obtained from the fermentation of certain types of bacteria. For example, PLA contains Lactic Acid, which is a common byproduct of Lactic Acid Bacteria. The development of the biofuel industry may be another reason the price of such materials have dropped so drastically. Like ethanol, large amounts of Lactic Acid can be produced from the ensilage of corn stover products. Now, the use of genetic engineering may provide more quantities of the other bioplastic material, PHBs, from the leaves of sugarcane or possibly corn plants too. Researchers from the University of Queensland & BSES have been able to produce dozens of genetic varieties of sugarcane plants that contain PHBs in the leaves of the plants [ 1. EPOBIO Workshop Two 2007 ]. Genes that are able to produce PHBs in bacteria such as R. Eutropha are transplanted into plants such as sugarcane, where the material accumulates in the leaves as the plant matures. Other agricultural plants have also been experimented with transgenically using these type of genes such as flax, corn, alfalfa and others [ 2. Daniell & Chase 2004 ]. Corn and sugarcane are two of the main types of energy crops used to produce ethanol in both North and South America. The unused portions of the plant could be harvested into a resulting PHB material. Since these plants are grown in large quantities
to provide biofuels, large quantities of PHBs could be produced simultaneously.

Experiments have also been done with sugar beet plants too. Sugar beets are the other main source of our raw sugar or sucrose supply, and grows in various places across the United States. These type of agricultural residues could be utilized for this purpose. In the future, the conversion of plant crop residues into further chemicals and fuels should be more widespread not only in the United States but across the world. As these renewable resources are utilized, more sensible policies should be developed outlining the more practical usage of crop residues. Probably the most prevalent and common residue will most likely be corn stover. It already has other practical uses such as ensilage for feed and chemicals. It has also been commonly used as fodder (ie fertilizer) for the next growing season. Competition of corn stover use most likely will happen. Corn leaves could also be targeted to produce amounts of PHBs, but other uses such as further ethanol production may be more practical. Scientists at various universities have also genetically bred corn plants to breakdown cellulose into sugars that can be used in future ethanol or other chemical fermentations. Since the same genes that produce PHBs in plants are originally taken from bacteria, microbial cultivation in bioreactors may be a more favorable and practical method in producing PHBs. However, since large amounts of corn and sugarcane are cultivated, it makes sense to utilize the leaf residues for further products. Not enough information is known by the author to know whether it is practical to cultivate other types of plants for PHB harvesting. This should be an area for qualified plant biologists and scientists who work with specific species to decide.

REFERENCES

1. "Sugarcane as a Biofactory - Products from Plants from crops and forests to zero-waste biorefiniries", EPOBIO Workshop 2 - May 2007 by SIIB - Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology

2. "Molecular Biology & Biotechnology of Plant Organelles and Chloroplasts : Chloroplasts & Mitochondria", [2004], Daniell H., Chase C.,

Photos taken from Picassa Web Album

KEYWORDS: Polyhydroxybutyrates, PHB, Polyhydroxyalkoanates, PHA, Poly lactic acid, PLA, Bioplastics, Energy Crops, Sugarcane, Corn Stover, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Modified Plants

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