Are melon by-products a suitable source of nutrients and bioactive compounds for the development of functional foods?

Apresentação oral a convite.

Today’s consumers are demanding for foods which not only have enhanced nutritional profile but also have health benefits, known as functional foods. By-products of the food and agricultural industries, such as peels and seeds of fruits, have been found to have additional uses, thereby solving waste problems, reducing environmental impacts, and increasing their commercial value. It is expected that the generated amounts of by-products will continue to significantly increase and the application of such by-products, as ingredients, for the development of functional foods will be, for sure, an excellent opportunity to valorise this waste and to promote sustainability. To valorise melon by-products, by using a sustainable approach, to further develop enriched and nutritional balanced functional foods (with low saturated fat, salt, and sugar content) that will contribute to the improvement of various public health challenges (type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension). In 2022, melon by-products (seeds and peels) were collected directly from Portuguese producers. The melon peels were dehydrated (50 ºC, 10h) and the seeds were dried in an oven (50 ºC, 6h). Afterwards, samples were grinded to obtain melon peel flour (MPF) and melon seeds flour (MSF). The following components were analyzed: moisture, ash, protein, amino acids, fat, fatty acids, dietary fiber and vitamins. Then, a holistic approach considering the overall nutritional profile of the flours was performed to establish the best methodology for the design of healthy functional foods. Results are presented per 100 g of dry weight (dw). The main component of both flours is dietary fiber (30.5 ± 0.4 and 42.3 ± 2.3 g/100 g dw for MSF and MPF, respectively). The MSF presented a higher content of protein (22.8 ± 0.7 g/100 g dw) and of total fat (30.5 ± 0.4 g/100 g dw), in comparison with MPF. Regarding vitamin E, the main vitamers for both flours were γ-tocopherol and α-tocopherol. According to nutrition claims, Regulation (EC) n.º 1924/2006, MSF is high in fiber, while MPF is high in fiber and low in fat. The dietary reference value for vitamin E intake, for adults, is 11 mg/day and 13 mg/day, for female and male, respectively. The analyzed flours can be considered a good source of this vitamin to accomplish the dietary recommendations. Melon by-products are a valuable source of nutrients and bioactive compounds and this research contributes with scientific knowledge for the design of multi-functional ingredients, which can be further used to develop nutritious and healthy functional foods. These by-products have potential to globally improve food security, nutrition, and economic well-being.

This work was financially supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the projects Food4DIAB (EXPL/BAA-AGR/1382/2021); and UIDB/50006/2020 and by AgriFood XXI I&D&I project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041) co-financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regional do Norte 2014/2020).

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