Brassesco María Emilia, Paupério Ana, Pereira Carlos D, Ferreira João Paulo, Pintado Manuela
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal.
Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior Agrária, Bencanta, 3045-601 Coimbra, Portugal.
Foods. 2025 Mar 25;14(7):1144. doi: 10.3390/foods14071144.
Brewer's spent yeast (BSY), a significant brewing by-product, poses environmental challenges and opportunities for valorization as a sustainable protein source. This study focuses on transforming BSY into high-value functional ingredients for food applications. A green, sustainable, and scalable process was developed to extract bioactive compounds from BSY at both laboratory and pilot scales, yielding peptide-rich fractions with robust antioxidant properties. These extracts were incorporated into prototype formulations, including protein-enriched crackers, demonstrating their potential as natural, nutritious ingredients. Physicochemical, compositional, and functional characterizations validated their application viability. The antioxidant potential of BSY fractions was confirmed through total phenolic compounds and ABTS and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays, where the retentate from the 10 kDa ultrafiltration fraction on the pilot scale exhibited superior bioactivity, supporting its selection as the most suitable fraction for food formulations. Additionally, the transition from laboratory to pilot scale revealed slight variations in protein retention and bioactive compound recovery, emphasizing the need for process optimization. These findings highlight BSY's potential to support circular economy practices by reducing waste while enhancing the nutritional and functional value of food products.
啤酒废酵母（BSY）是一种重要的酿造副产品，既带来了环境挑战，也为作为可持续蛋白质来源进行增值利用提供了机遇。本研究聚焦于将啤酒废酵母转化为用于食品应用的高价值功能成分。开发了一种绿色、可持续且可扩展的工艺，在实验室和中试规模下从啤酒废酵母中提取生物活性化合物，得到具有强大抗氧化性能的富含肽的组分。这些提取物被纳入原型配方中，包括富含蛋白质的饼干，证明了它们作为天然营养成分的潜力。物理化学、成分和功能表征验证了它们的应用可行性。通过总酚化合物以及ABTS和氧自由基吸收能力测定，证实了啤酒废酵母组分的抗氧化潜力，其中中试规模下10 kDa超滤组分的截留物表现出卓越的生物活性，支持其被选为食品配方中最合适的组分。此外，从实验室规模到中试规模的转变揭示了蛋白质保留率和生物活性化合物回收率存在细微差异，强调了工艺优化的必要性。这些发现凸显了啤酒废酵母通过减少废物同时提高食品营养价值和功能价值来支持循环经济实践的潜力。
