ABSTRACT
Phytochemicals are the secondary metabolites synthesized by plants. Plant biomass can be a potential source of the phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids etc. The phytochemicals can be used in different industries including the food industries. They can be used as an additive for the functional food or may be used as a therapeutic agent for the development of nutraceuticals. They can be also be used for the development of more value-added products owing to their commercial, economic and environmental benefits. Different sorts of wastes generated from fruits and vegetables may contribute to plant biomass including peels, skins, pomace, seeds etc. In order to recover these phytochemicals, different techniques of extraction are applied. The conventional techniques of extraction such as Soxhlet extraction, maceration, cold extraction have been commonly used. On the other hand, the non-conventional extraction techniques such as microwave assisted extraction, ultrasound assisted extraction, pulse electric field extraction etc. offer better and efficient extraction. However, the downstream processing of the phytochemical recovery still remains the same for both types of techniques. The characterization of the phytochemicals should also be done to identify the individual or group of phytochemicals found in a particular biomass. Different chromatographic techniques like GC, GCMS, LCMS, HPLC, NMR, FTIR, etc. can be adopted for the identification and characterization. Hence, the plant biomass must be utilized for the recovery of phytochemicals along with the contribution to waste minimization towards the environment.
