What is it about?

We turned orange juice waste into brain-friendly extracts using eco-friendly methods. One technique cut solvent use by 95% and energy by 90%, making it greener. Another was cheaper and more profitable. This helps reduce waste and supports sustainable health products.

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Why is it important?

This study shows how food waste—specifically orange peels and pulp—can be turned into valuable brain-protective products using eco-friendly methods. It’s timely because it tackles two global challenges at once: reducing waste and promoting sustainable health solutions. By comparing traditional and advanced extraction techniques, the research identifies greener, more cost-effective ways to recover useful compounds, helping industries move toward circular economy models.

Perspectives

This publication was a truly collaborative effort with an international team from Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and Iran. It was inspiring to see how science can unite diverse minds to tackle global challenges. For me, the most exciting part was rethinking how we treat waste—not as a problem, but as a resource. By turning orange peels into valuable compounds that may help fight dementia, we’re showing that sustainability and health innovation can go hand in hand. I hope this work sparks new ideas about what’s possible when we look at everyday materials with fresh eyes.

PhD Jose Antonio Mendiola
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Transforming orange by-products into high-value neuroprotective products: environmental and economic assessment of advanced green extraction methods, Green Chemistry, January 2025, Royal Society of Chemistry,
DOI: 10.1039/d5gc02153g.
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