Natural antioxidants recovered from food by-products as inhibitors of lipid oxidation
Mahsa Momayezhaghighi,Anna Lante*
University of Padova, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry—TESAF, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| ARTICLE INFO | ABSTRACT |
| TYPE: Original scientific paper https://doi.org/10.17508/CJFST.2025.17.1.10 |
Lipid oxidation is a major factor in food quality deterioration, leading to reduced nutritional value, off-flavours, and shorter shelf life, and is one of the major challenges facing the food industry worldwide. The production and use of natural antioxidants recovered from food by-products that have a high ability to inhibit lipid oxidation could have profound effects on improving food quality. These by-products, which are rich in bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and tocopherols, play an important role in scavenging free radicals, chelating metal ions, and delaying the formation of peroxides. This review explores the potential of natural antioxidants derived from fruit peels, vegetable pomace, cereal bran, dairy by-products, and seafood residues in enhancing oxidative stability in various food systems, including oils, meats, and dairy products, and provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential of antioxidants recovered from food by-products in preventing lipid oxidation. However, there are serious obstacles, such as improving budget-friendly extraction techniques for the production and use of natural antioxidants extracted from lipid oxidation inhibitor by-products. Future research tackling these difficulties could open up suitable ways to utilize the complete capacity of natural antioxidants in industrial utilizations and sustainable food systems. |
| *CORRESPONDENCE Anna Lante anna.lante@unipd.it |
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| ARTICLE HISTORY Received: March 31, 2025 Accepted: May 26, 2025 |
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| CITATION Momayezahghigh M, Lante A. Natural antioxidants recovered from food by-products as inhibitors of lipid oxidation. Croatian Journal of Food Science and Technology (2025) 17 (1) 142-165 |
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 COPYRIGHT: © 2024 by the author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). |
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| KEYWORDS
natural antioxidants; lipid oxidation; food by-products; extraction technologies; food preservation |
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| KEY CONTRIBUTION
Lipid oxidation deteriorates food quality by reducing nutritional value, causing off-flavour, and shortening shelf life, posing a major challenge to the food industry. Natural antioxidants from food by-products, rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and tocopherols, effectively inhibit lipid oxidation and improve food stability in oils, meats, and dairy products. Overcoming challenges like cost-effective extraction methods is crucial for utilizing natural antioxidants in sustainable food systems and industrial applications. |