ABSTRACT
Meat represents a very important part of the food consumed in the world, which leads to generation of large amount of by-products every year in the slaughterhouses. The restrictions established by the existing regulations or by religious and cultural traditions determine the fate of this material. However, the high nutritional value of these materials, especially their protein contents, has provided added value to these by-products. The antihypertensive (ACE-inhibitory), antimicrobial, antioxidant, and opioid activities, as well as the technological properties associated with the bioactive compounds isolated from these products could allow extending their use in food as functional products, and their potential use in medical and pharmaceutical field. Collagens, enzymes, protein hydrolysates, and polyunsaturated fatty acids are present in these biomolecules. The alternative uses of meat by-products are presented as a future option to solve the problems derived from the wastes generated from slaughters. Therefore, this chapter will give an overview about the value compounds of the meat by-products, the bioactive compounds extracted from them, as well as the use of alternative techniques for the treatment and isolation of these compounds.
