Recovery of Bioactive Components from Strawberry Seeds Residues Post Oil Extraction and Their Cosmetic Potential.

Featured Application: The residues from the fruit sector represent a rich reservoir of nutrients and biologically active compounds with health-promoting properties. Therefore, they should be valorized. The processing of strawberries generates up to several percent of waste and, until now, various methods of reusing them have been proposed that align with sustainable development policies. This study proposes the valorization of defatted strawberry seeds as cosmetic additives. It has been demonstrated that they can serve as a source of phenolic compounds with antioxidant and cytoprotective activity, desirable features in skincare products. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the valorization of byproducts generated during fruit processing. An example of this is the waste produced during the processing of strawberries. For instance, it has been evidenced that strawberries seeds can be a valuable source of oil. The goal of this paper was to investigate the potential of strawberry seed residues after oil extraction (defatted seeds) as a source of phenolics with possible cosmetic applications. The components were recovered using water and ethanol mixture, assisted by heat, ultrasound, and microwave. The extracts were characterized through ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric and mass detectors (UPLC-DAD-MS), and the biological properties of the phenolic-rich fraction were assessed using antioxidant tests and a cell viability assay on human skin fibroblasts. The study revealed that defatted strawberry seeds are rich in low molecular weight phenolics, specifically in tiliroside, kaempferol 3-glucoside, and ellagic acid. Furthermore, the phenolic-rich fraction was effective in scavenging free radicals in human skin fibroblasts and showed cytoprotective activity against oxidative stress. This evidence suggests that defatted strawberry seeds are a valuable material for further processing to obtain a beneficial additive for skincare products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]