Use of Grape Pomace from the Wine Industry for the Extraction of Valuable Compounds with potential use in the Food Industry

This review explores the importance of grape cultivation, as well as the generation of waste in the wine production process, the characteristics of the waste material, and the current uses of this agro-industrial waste; the extraction of the compounds of interest is also addressed as well as a review of the patents related to the subject to finally expose the challenges of the use of waste from the wine industry.

In recent years, the concept of circular bioeconomy has considered agro-industrial wastes as a natural source of bioactive molecules. The wine industry generates a wide variety of waste; of the 75 million tons of fruit produced annually, 80% is destined to different wine production. The residues generated after wine production are abundant and can also be a source of various bioactive compounds. The main compounds include high cellulose and hemicellulose content, polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids, anthocyanins, and catechins, and oils present in the seeds. All of these components can be recovered and used as ingredients and additives in the food industry.

The wine industry in Mexico is the second-largest source of employment in the agricultural sector, with a production of approximately 450,000 tons per year (according to the Mexican Wine Council). Like other industries, the wine industry generates wastes during the process of transforming raw materials. These residues have a rich composition of compounds, making their extraction and use desirable. Depending on the stage of the winemaking process, the chemical composition of these materials may vary, which diversifies the opportunities for recovery and application of the different fractions. The compounds that can be recovered are polyphenolic compounds such as catechins, quercetins, anthocyanins, and resveratrol. The richness of these residues makes it desirable to take advantage of them through various extractive methods to later incorporate them in new food formulations or in the pharmaceutical industry.