PO41 | FROM FIG-CHAIN BY-PRODUCTS TO ACTIVE BIOCOATINGS: THE CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY APPROACH OF THE FIGURE PROJECT

Martina Marcolin¹, Stefania Marzorati², Ranita Das¹, Nabil Adrar³, Enrico Novelli¹, Onur Guneser⁴, Moslem Sabaghi⁴, Hilal Sahin Nadeem⁵, Birgul Ertan⁶, Enver Tarhan⁷, Waleed Fouad Abobatta⁸, Tuba Esatbeyoglu³, Luca Fasolato¹, Stefania Balzan¹, Ozgur Tarhan⁴ | ¹Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy; ²Università degli Studi di Milano La Statale, Italy; ³Institute of Food and One Health Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany; ⁴Usak University, Turkey; ⁵Adnan Menderes University, Turkey; ⁶Fig Research Center, Turkey; ⁷Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey; ⁸Agriculture Research Center, Egypt.

Aim. Food loss, agro-industrial waste and the short shelf life of highly perishable products are major challenges for sustainable food systems. Natural bioactive compounds and bio-based coatings offer promising alternatives to conventional additives and packaging materials, although their use requires careful assessment of compositional variability, technological suitability, safety and standardization. The Fig Waste Into Green Ultra-Resilient Eco-coatings (FIGURE) project aims to valorise fig-related wastes (Ficus carica) and by-products by recovering valuable biomolecules for the development of safe, standardized and active biocoatings for food applications. FIGURE combines the mapping and management of fig-chain losses and wastes with stakeholder engagement, biomolecule recovery, biocoating development, safety assessment, Life Cycle Assessment and consumer acceptance. Low-quality figs and fig-molasses residues are investigated as pectin sources, pruning residues as cellulose sources, and fig leaves as sources of bioactive compounds and natural pigments. This study reports preliminary results on the extraction of bioactive compounds from fig leaves as a first step towards their evaluation for antimicrobial and antioxidant functions in food preservation.

Methods. A supercritical carbon dioxide extraction protocol was set up using a central composite Design of Experiments to evaluate pressure (150–450 bar) and ethanol co-solvent-to-biomass ratio (0–3 v/w). Non-pulverized dried fig leaves were extracted through a 30-min static phase followed by a 30-min dynamic phase. Extraction yield, total phenolic content, total carotenoid content, chlorophylls and antioxidant activity were selected as response variables.

Results. Preliminary trials performed at 60°C, in the pressure range between 150 and 450 bar and without co-solvents, provided extraction yields of up to 2% of the dry weight of leaf biomass. At 150 bar, the extract contained approximately 2 mg of carotenoids per g of extract, with no detectable chlorophylls. At 300 and 450 bar, total carotenoids content increased up to approximately 12 mg/g, while chlorophylls reached approximately 6 mg/g. The extracts will subsequently be assessed for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, cytotoxicity, and compatibility with food matrices and suitability for incorporation into biocoating systems. Upcoming trials will include extractions in the presence of co-solvent.

Conclusions. FIGURE integrates the recovery of fig-derived biomolecules with the development of safe, standardized and biodegradable active coatings. These systems may help control contaminating microbiota and foodborne pathogens while limiting oxidative processes associated with quality deterioration. The recovered materials will be used to produce pectin- and cellulose-based nanofibres, nanofilms and absorbent pads for application to fresh and dried figs and, as additional food models, Caciotta-type cheese and chicken breast. Their validation may therefore contribute to reducing food waste and extending the safety and shelf life of foodstuffs.
M. Marcolin Roncato and S. Marzorati equally contributed to the work