Biological properties of polyphenols fractions recovered from fruits and vegetables industrial wastes

Purpose Processing and selection of fruits and vegetables generate high amounts of wastes that represent an economical and environmental issue for the agroindustry sector. Nevertheless, according to so called "biorefinery" approach, this waste biomass can be exploited for the recovery of value added molecules. In this paper the residues of industrial processing of fennels, carrots, lemons and tomatoes were used as sources of polyphenols. Methods In order to optimize the recovery of polyphenols, different extraction techniques (maceration, ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction) were used in combination with different extraction media (water, ethanol, methanol and their mixtures). The polyphenols' fractions were tested for their chemical and biological properties. Results All the obtained phenol fractions showed high antioxidant power and scavenging ability towards stable radical species and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the isolated polyphenol mixtures (containing remarkable compounds like quercetin, kaempferol, naringin, hesperetin)