Fruit Waste: Potential Bio-Resource for Extraction of Nutraceuticals and Bioactive Compounds

Globally, fruits and vegetables generate almost half of total food waste, which has become a major environmental concern. Though the ample amounts of fruit by-products are considered as industrial waste and usually disposed of or used as animal feed and biofuel, they can be a great source of nutraceuticals and bioactive compounds. Studies have suggested that bioactive compounds from fruit by-streams can be extracted using conventional methods such as solvent extraction, maceration, and enzyme-assisted extraction and emerging technologies such as supercritical-fluid extraction, pressurized-liquid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and electric pulse field. This chapter discusses the potential of extraction of nutraceuticals and bioactive compounds from fruit waste and their possibilities for further application in the food, feed, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, with their future perspectives.