Antioxidant Potential of Vegetable Peels in Functional Food Development for Improved Public Health..
Main Article Content
Abstract
Food waste has become a critical global concern, with substantial amounts of vegetable peels discarded during household cooking and industrial processing. Although frequently regarded as waste, vegetable peels are valuable sources of bioactive compounds—including antioxidants, polyphenols, and dietary fiber—that exhibit significant nutritional and functional properties. These compounds play a key role in mitigating oxidative stress and may contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. This review focuses on the antioxidant potential of commonly discarded vegetable peels and their prospective applications in the development of functional food products. Evidence from previous studies demonstrates that peels from vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and pumpkins contain notable concentrations of natural antioxidants and other bioactive constituents that enhance nutritional quality. Recent investigations further emphasize the incorporation of vegetable peel powders into diverse food formulations to improve both functional and nutritional attributes. Such strategies not only elevate the health-promoting value of food products but also foster sustainable food systems by minimizing waste and optimizing the utilization of agro-food by-products. Consequently, the valorization of vegetable peels represents a promising approach for advancing functional food innovation, supporting sustainable nutrition, and strengthening public health outcomes.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Monterrosa EC, Frongillo EA, Drewnowski A, de Pee S, Vandevijvere S. Sociocultural influences on food choices and implications for sustainable healthy diets. Food Nutr Bull. 2020;41(2 Suppl):59S–73S. doi:10.1177/0379572120937705
Granato D, Barba FJ, Bursać Kovačević D, Lorenzo JM, Cruz AG, Putnik P. Functional foods: Product development, technological trends, efficacy testing, and safety. Annu Rev Food Sci Technol. 2020;11:93–118. doi:10.1146/annurev-food-032519-051708
Sagar NA, Pareek S, Sharma S, Yahia EM, Lobo MG. Fruit and vegetable waste: Bioactive compounds, their extraction, and possible utilization. J Food Sci Technol. 2018;55(10):3876–3887. doi:10.1007/s13197-018-3338-3
Moo-Huchin VM, Moo-Huchin MI, Estrada-León RJ, et al. Antioxidant compounds, antioxidant activity and phenolic content in peel from three tropical fruits from Yucatan, Mexico. Food Chem. 2015;166:17–22. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.05.127
Pathak PD, Mandavgane SA, Kulkarni BD. Fruit peel waste: Characterization and its potential uses. Curr Sci. 2017;113(3):444–454.
Zeng Y, Zhou W, Yu J, Zhao L, Wang K, Hu Z, Liu X. By-products of fruit and vegetables: Antioxidant properties of extractable and non-extractable phenolic compounds. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023;12(2):418. doi:10.3390/antiox12020418
Zhang Y, et al. Comprehensive profiling of phenolic compounds in fruit and vegetable peels using LC-MS/MS. Front Sustain Food Syst. 2024;8:1469635. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2024.1469635
Arranz S, Saura-Calixto F, Shaha S, Kroon PA. High contents of nonextractable polyphenols in fruits suggest that polyphenol contents of plant foods have been underestimated. J Agric Food Chem. 2009;57(16):7298–7303. doi:10.1021/jf9016652
. Kaur A, Singh R, Srikanth K, Bhattacharyya S. Antioxidant potential of potato peel: influence of variety and processing. J Food Sci Technol. 2019;56(4):2273–2282. doi:10.1007/s13197-019-03714-1
Kumar M, Tomar M, Potkule J, et al. Onion (Allium cepa L.) peel: A review on the extraction of bioactive compounds, its antioxidant potential, and its application as a functional food ingredient. J Food Sci. 2022;87(9):3751–3769. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.16297
Xu DP, Li Y, Meng X, et al. Natural antioxidants in foods and medicinal plants: Extraction, assessment and resources. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(1):96. doi:10.3390/ijms18010096
Singh B, Bhardwaj A, Singh J, Kaur A. Peel flour fortification in functional food development: Recent advances and future perspectives. Discov Food. 2025;5:12. doi:10.1007/s44187-024-00274-4
Noda Y, Kneyuki T, Igarashi K, Mori A, Packer L. Antioxidant activity of nasunin, an anthocyanin in eggplant peels. Toxicology. 2000;148(2–3):119–123. doi:10.1016/S0300-483X(00)00202-X
Lorzadeh E, Weston-Green K, Roodenrys S, et al. Microwave and enzyme-based green combinatorial process for the improved extraction of quercetin from rose onion peel. Ind Crops Prod. 2025;224:Article 119902. doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.119902
Bhardwaj K, Najda A, Sharma R, et al. Fruit and vegetable peel-enriched functional foods: Potential avenues and health perspectives. Evid-Based Complement Altern Med. 2022;2022:8543881. doi:10.1155/2022/8543881
Vescovo D, Manetti C, Ruggieri R, et al. The valorization of potato peels as a functional ingredient in the food industry: A comprehensive review. Foods. 2025;14(8):1333. doi:10.3390/foods14081333
Wang C, et al. Macroporous resin recovery of antioxidant polyphenol compounds from red onion (Allium cepa L.) peel. Antioxidants (Basel). 2025;14(2):145. doi:10.3390/antiox14020145
Mazinani S, et al. Optimization of bioactive compound extraction from eggplant peel by response surface methodology: Ultrasound-assisted solvent qualitative and quantitative effect. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022;11(11):2103. doi:10.3390/antiox11112103
Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2801–2822. doi:10.3390/nu7042801
Benjamim CJR, Porto AA, Valenti VE, et al. Nitrate derived from beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Nutr. 2022;9:823039. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.823039
Przybylska S, Tokarczyk G. Lycopene in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(4):1957. doi:10.3390/ijms23041957
Hsieh MJ, Huang CY, et al. Cardiovascular disease and possible ways in which lycopene acts as an efficient cardio-protectant against different cardiovascular risk factors. Molecules. 2022;27(10):3235. doi:10.3390/molecules27103235
Alighadri T, Tabibiazar M, Mohammadi M, Jahanban-Esfahlan A, Amarowicz R. Nasunin, an amazing chemical constituent in eggplants (Solanum melongena L.): A review of its major properties and health-promoting effects. ACS Food Sci Technol. 2024;4(1):16–35. doi:10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00582
Guo W, Huang D, Li S. Lycopene alleviates oxidative stress-induced cell injury in human vascular endothelial cells by encouraging the SIRT1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Clin Exp Hypertens. 2023;45(1). doi:10.1080/10641963.2023.2205051
Carvalho MRCG, de Camargo SS, Chorilli M. Lycopene: From tomato to its nutraceutical use and its association with nanotechnology. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2022;122:251–262. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2021.10.026
Sonia NS, Mini C, Geethalekshmi PR. Vegetable peels as natural antioxidants for processed foods – A review. Agric Rev. 2016;37(1):35–41. doi:10.18805/Ar.v37i1.9262
Dhingra D, Michael M, Rajput H, Patil RT. Physico-chemical characteristics of dietary fibre from potato peel and its effect on organoleptic characteristics of biscuits. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2012;49:25–32. Available from: https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/343c9e27-f2ec-4c5a-8827-300403d4d255/content
Kanner J, Harel S, Granit R. Betalains: A new class of dietary cationized antioxidants. J Agric Food Chem. 2001;49(11):5178–5185. doi:10.1021/jf010456f