The wastes generated during the olive oil extraction process, even if presenting
a negative impact for the environment, contain several bioactive compounds
that have considerable health benefits. After suitable extraction and purification,
these compounds can be used as food antioxidants or as active ingredients in
nutraceutical and cosmetic products due to their interesting technological and
pharmaceutical properties. The aim of this review, after presenting general applications
of the different types of wastes generated from this industry, is to focus
on the olive pomace produced by the two-phase system and to explore the challenging
applications of the main individual compounds present in this waste.
Hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, oleuropein, oleuropein aglycone, and verbascoside are
the most abundant bioactive compounds present in olive pomace. Besides their
antioxidant activity, these compounds also demonstrated other biological properties
such as antimicrobial, anticancer, or anti-inflammatory, thus being used
in formulations to produce pharmaceutical and cosmetic products or in the fortification
of food. Nevertheless, it is mandatory to involve both industries and
researchers to create strategies to valorize these byproducts while maintaining
environmental sustainability.
