Functional evaluation of horse chestnut seed and its application in the production of compounded paper for effective utilization of an untapped resource

Many streets in Europe and the US are lined with horse chestnut trees. However, its fruit is inedible and poorly utilized. Therefore, its effective utilization has been a big issue. For recycling of horse chestnut seed, it was separated into “sarcocarp and endodermis” and “outer theca”; each part was finely ground for analysis of its functions. Ground horse chestnut seed showed excellent antibacterial activity toward Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus mutans. Antibacterial activity was particularly strong against E. coli, which is a Gram-negative bacterium. The “outer theca” part showed a higher antibacterial activity than did the “sarcocarp and endodermis” part. It was found that the polyphenol content of the “outer theca” of the horse chestnut fruit was approximately three times that of the “sarcocarp and endodermis”; these polyphenols are believed to play a role in the seed’s antioxidation capacity. The ground outer theca of horse chestnut seed showed oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of 531 mmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/g. Antioxidant activity was assumed to contribute to the antibacterial activity. In other words, antioxidant activity was assumed to damage the peptidoglycan layer of the bacterial cell wall. For possible recycling of horse chestnut seed, compounded paper containing the ground outer theca blended with pulp fibers was prepared. In this study, compounded paper containing ground “outer theca” was prepared using a traditional Washi paper-making method. The compounded paper was found to retain high deodorizing activity of the ground theca. Furthermore, although mechanical properties deteriorated as the proportion of the ground outer theca increased, these parameters remained adequate for practical applications. The compounded paper may be expected to have a wide range of applications as a highly functional paper with high gas permeability, deodorant activity, and antibacterial activity.