Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada.
Department of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Waste Manag. 2023 Apr 15;161:225-233. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.02.035. Epub 2023 Mar 8.
Plantain peels as agro-waste are generated in the millions of tons per year with no profitable management strategies. On the other hand, the excessive use of plastic packaging threatens the environment and human health. This research aimed to address both problems via a green approach. High-quality pectin was recovered from plantain peels via an enzyme-assisted and ethanol-recycling process. The yield and galacturonic acid (GalA) content of the recovered low methoxy pectin was 12.43% and 25.0%, respectively, when cellulase was added at 50 U per 5 g peel powder, with a significantly higher recovery rate and purity than the pectin products extracted with no cellulase (P ≤ 0.05). The recovered pectin was further integrated and reinforced with beeswax solid-lipid nanoparticles (BSLNs) to fabricate films as a potential alternative packaging material to single-use plastics. The reinforced pectin films showed improved light barrier, water resistance, mechanical, conformational, and morphological properties. This study presents a sustainable strategy to transform plantain peels into pectin products and pectin-based packaging films with broad applications.
香蕉皮作为农业废弃物，每年产生数百万吨，但目前还没有可行的管理策略。另一方面，过度使用塑料包装对环境和人类健康构成威胁。本研究旨在通过绿色方法解决这两个问题。通过酶辅助和乙醇回收工艺从香蕉皮中回收高质量的果胶。当每 5 g 果皮粉添加 50 U 的纤维素酶时，可分别获得 12.43%和 25.0%的低甲氧基果胶得率和半乳糖醛酸（GalA）含量，回收率和纯度明显高于未添加纤维素酶提取的果胶产品（P≤0.05）。回收的果胶进一步与蜂蜡固体脂质纳米粒子（BSLNs）整合和增强，以制造薄膜，作为一次性塑料的潜在替代品包装材料。增强型果胶膜表现出更好的遮光性、耐水性、机械性能、构象和形态性能。本研究提出了一种可持续的策略，可将香蕉皮转化为果胶产品和基于果胶的包装薄膜，具有广泛的应用前景。
