Bioprocessing of pineapple waste for sustainable production of bioactive compounds using solid-state fermentation

The bioprocessing of pineapple wastes into value-added bioproducts is a sustainable solution. This study examined a novel alternative for producing bioactive compounds using Aspergillus niger GH1 for solid-state fermentation (SSF) of pineapple peel and core. The results revealed that the chemical composition of pineapple waste was suitable for use in SSF. During the first 32 h of the SSF, free phenols increased by 72.31% and were positively related to antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). ß-Glucosidase and cellulase activities were increased by the SSF and were positively associated with free phenolic acids such as 5-caffeoylquinic acid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed mycelial invasion in pineapple waste. Analysis of free and bound phenols by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) showed more conjugated phenols in the unfermented than fermented waste. These results provided a broad overview of the chemical compounds with antioxidant capacity that are generated from the growth of A. niger. The market for polyphenols and enzymes is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. In response to this requirement and to the circular economy that seeks to take advantage of waste by generating new products, solid-state fermentation is applied, which produces in a short time polyphenols with antioxidant capacity and enzymes with possible application in the food industry from the fermentation of organic waste such as pineapple waste.