From waste to remedy: Extraction and utilization of food waste-derived bioactive components in wound healing

Background: Food loss and waste (FLW) has been named among the globally critical issues to be solved both for social and environmental welfare. Food industry has focused on making better use of food waste streams through several routes. One sustainable approach to that end is valorization of food waste for production of bioactive components. Scope and approach: This review first gives an overview of FLW. Application of bioactive components in cosmetic & pharmaceutical industries as well as wound healing process are briefly covered, followed by possible routes for bioactive component extraction from food waste. Finally, recent efforts for application of such components extracted from animal- or plant-based waste streams for wound treatments, including safety and toxicity aspects, are discussed. Key Findings and Conclusions: Method selection for both the extraction and application of these compounds are defined by the bioactive component of interest, the nature of starting material, and the final purpose of application. Outstanding candidates for utilization in wound healing are waste from fisheries, meat and fruit processing industries.