Fruit and Vegetable Processing Wastes: A Sustainable Source for the Production of Enzymes
摘要
Rapidly growing population demands a substantial increase in the production and processing of essential horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables, which are encouraged to be consumed because of their nutritional value and health benefits. This inevitably leads to an enormous generation of fruit and vegetable processing wastes (FVPWs) as by-products, sometimes even surpassing the corresponding edible product. Excessive FVPWs pose environmental risks and economic loss. In addition, unutilized and unattended FVPWs also are a loss of nutritional and health benefits because of their value-added constituents such as dietary fiber, enzymes, polyphenols, oligosaccharides, and organic acids. The complex composition as well as the rich presence of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and other minerals and substances makes FVPWs an ideal substrate for enzyme production. This approach of biotransformation of FVPWs to yield enzymes has recently garnered attention. Utilizing FVPWs as a tool for enzyme production is another step toward sustainable development as well as mitigating the environmental pollution associated with it. Enzyme production from fruit and vegetable wastes can be achieved through two primary methods, namely, submerged fermentation (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF). In this chapter, we provide a detailed description of the process of enzyme production utilizing FVPWs as substrates with different microorganisms.