Valorisation of keratin waste: Controlled pretreatment enhances enzymatic production of antioxidant peptides

Enhancing activity of food protein-derived peptides: An overview of pretreatment, preparation, and modification methods

Food protein-derived peptides have garnered considerable attention due to their potential bioactivities and functional properties. However, the limited activity poses a challenge in effective utilization aspects. To overcome this hurdle, various methods have been explored to enhance the activity of these peptides. This comprehensive review offers an extensive overview of pretreatment, preparation methods, and modification strategies employed to augment the activity of food protein-derived peptides. Additionally, it encompasses a discussion on the current status and future prospects of bioactive peptide applications. The review also addresses the standardization of mass production processes and safety considerations for bioactive peptides while examining the future challenges and opportunities associated with these compounds. This comprehensive review serves as a valuable guide for researchers in the food industry, offering insights and recommendations to optimize the production process of bioactive peptides.

Bioactive Antimicrobial Peptides from Food Proteins: Perspectives and Challenges for Controlling Foodborne Pathogens

Bioactive peptides (BAPs) derived from food proteins have been extensively studied for their health benefits, majorly exploring their potential use as nutraceuticals and functional food components. These peptides possess a range of beneficial properties, including antihypertensive, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antibacterial activities, and are naturally present within dietary protein sequences. To release food-grade antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), enzymatic protein hydrolysis or microbial fermentation, such as with lactic acid bacteria (LAB), can be employed. The activity of AMPs is influenced by various structural characteristics, including the amino acid composition, three-dimensional conformation, liquid charge, putative domains, and resulting hydrophobicity. This review discusses the synthesis of BAPs and AMPs, their potential for controlling foodborne pathogens, their mechanisms of action, and the challenges and prospects faced by the food industry. BAPs can regulate gut microbiota by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria or by directly inhibiting pathogenic microorganisms. LAB-promoted hydrolysis of dietary proteins occurs naturally in both the matrix and the gastrointestinal tract. However, several obstacles must be overcome before BAPs can replace antimicrobials in food production. These include the high manufacturing costs of current technologies, limited in vivo and matrix data, and the difficulties associated with standardization and commercial-scale production.

An integrated process for co-producing fermentable sugars and xylonate from sugarcane bagasse based on xylonic acid assisted pretreatment

In this study, a renewable organic acid (xylonic acid), which can be prepared by the biooxidation of xylose, is used for pretreating sugarcane bagasse. The effects of reaction temperature and time on the release of fermentable xylose and glucose were investigated. On the basis of guaranteeing the good enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and minimizing the effects of inhibitors, the pretreatment with 1 % xylnoic acid at 190 °C for 30 min was selected after optimization. In this case, 70 % xylose was released, while enzymatic hydrolysis yield was also up to 86.5 %. Meanwhile, the pretreated hydrolysate liquor was proved that it could be used for producing xylonate by biooxidation of Gluconobacter oxydans. Finally, the sequential process of the xylonic acid pretreatment and saccharification also clear the path for recycling the lignin as value-added bioproducts. Overall, this study presents a green-like strategy for fully exploiting sugarcane bagasse.

Valorisation of keratinous wastes: A sustainable approach towards a circular economy

The valorisation of keratinous wastes involves biorefining and recovering the bioresource materials from the keratinous wastes to produce value-added keratin-based bioproducts with a broad application, distribution, and marketability potential. Valorisation of keratinous wastes increases the value of the wastes and enables more sustainable waste management towards a circular bioeconomy. The abundance of keratinous wastes as feedstock from agro-industrial processing, wool processing, and grooming industry benefits biorefinery and extraction of keratins, which could be the optimal solution for developing an ecologically and economically sustainable keratin-based economy. The transition from the current traditional linear models that are deleterious to the environment, which end energy and resources recovery through disposal by incineration and landfilling, to a more sustainable and closed-loop recycling and recovery approach that minimises pollution, disposal challenges, loss of valuable bioresources and potential revenues are required. The paper provides an overview of keratinous wastes and the compositional keratin proteins with the descriptions of the various keratin extraction methods in biorefinery and functional material synthesis, including enzymatic and microbial hydrolysis, chemical hydrolysis (acid/alkaline hydrolysis, dissolution in ionic liquids, oxidative and sulphitolysis) and chemical-free hydrolysis (steam explosion and ultrasonic). The study describes various uses and applications of keratinases and keratin-based composites fabricated through various manufacturing processes such as lyophilisation, compression moulding, solvent casting, hydrogel fabrication, sponge formation, electrospinning, and 3D printing for value-added applications.