Castanea sativa by-products: a review on added value and sustainable application

Abstract

Castanea sativa Mill. is a species of the family Fagaceae abundant in south Europe and Asia. The fruits (chestnut) are an added value resource in producing countries. Chestnut economic value is increasing not only for nutritional qualities but also for the beneficial health effects related with its consumption. During chestnut processing, a large amount of waste material is generated namely inner shell, outer shell and leaves. Studies on chestnut by-products revealed a good profile of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and cardioprotective properties. These agro-industrial wastes, after valorisation, can be used by other industries, such as pharmaceutical, food or cosmetics, generating more profits, reducing pollution costs and improving social, economic and environmental sustainability.

The purpose of this review is to provide knowledge about the type of chestnut by-products produced, the studies concerning its chemical composition and biological activity, and also to discuss other possible applications of these materials.

Keywords::

• chestnut
• Castanea sativa
• by-products
• sustainability
• composition
• review

Additional information

Funding

This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and the National Funds (FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology) through project Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2013. The work also received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds) under the framework of QREN through Project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069. To all financing sources the authors are greatly indebted.Francisca Rodrigues is thankful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) for the PhD grant SFRH/BDE/51385/2011 financed by POPH-QREN and subsidised by the European Science Foundation.