Valorization of Plant-Based Byproducts into Bioactive Food Packaging Systems: A Circular Bioeconomy Approach

Abstract

Plant byproducts are valuable sources of biomacromolecules including polysaccharides and proteins. However, a tremendous number of byproducts are generated from plant-based products that leads to significant disposal concerns. As per the FAO, around 14% of the world’s food, worth US$400 billion annually, is lost after harvest. Such tremendous loss in agricultural products leads to the discharge of approximately 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or 4.4 kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, amounting to approximately 8% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the environment. Therefore, the recovery of important compounds (including biopolymers) from these agricultural (plant) byproducts and creation of value-added products is an important step in food and environmental science area. Plant-based byproducts contain a myriad of important molecules including biopolymers and bioactive compounds. A variety of plant byproducts have been explored towards the extraction of biopolymers and bioactive compounds such as mango, tamarind, litchi, jamun, pomegranate, grapes, blueberry, blackberry, mulberry, eggplants, apples, carrots, potato, and many others. Among biopolymers, the important polysaccharides obtained from plant byproducts include starch, cellulose, xyloglucans, pectin, and hemicellulose. One of the important ways to valorize these byproducts is by converting them into bioactive food packaging systems. The food industry primarily focuses on using synthetic plastics such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polystyrene (PS) for food product packaging. The extensive use of such materials leads to detrimental effects on the environment affecting both human and marine population. Therefore, novel food packaging systems derived from plant-based byproducts can provide alternative solutions to this pressing issue. These plant byproducts are renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible, and cost-effective raw materials for biodegradable packaging. The focus of our lab is directed towards utilizing polysaccharides from plant byproducts such as xyloglucans (from tamarind seeds), starches (from jackfruit seeds, jamun seeds, and litchi seeds), and pumpkin seeds for the creation of next generation food packaging materials. In order to improve the material properties, different nanofillers have been used such as metallic nanoparticles (ZnO nanoparticles), organic nanoparticles (chitosan nanoparticles and lignin nanoparticles), and nanoclays (halloysite). In addition, plant-based bioactive compounds such as essential oils have been selected to add the antimicrobial functionality to the food packaging systems. In conclusion, plant-based byproducts provide valuable materials (both biopolymers and bioactive compounds) that can be explored tremendously into bioactive food packaging systems, thereby reducing environmental pollution and creating a safer food system.