MEDICINAL PLANT EFFLUENTS, A SOURCE OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN PROCESSED FOODS

Abstract

The water effluents produced from medicinal plants contain several organic molecules, normally categorized as secondary metabolites, and to a lesser extent, they also include primary metabolites. Utilizing plant extracts as a source of bioactive chemicals is especially intriguing in the development of fortified foods, pharmaceutical formulations, and therapeutic and cosmetic preservatives. The essential oil and polyphenol fractions obtained from the phase of the effluents exhibit distinct profiles. The compounds are utilized as dietary supplements to improve human nutrition status, as feed additives in animal feeding, as biocides for plant protection. Previous studies have documented the antimicrobial properties of plant components against different pathogens, namely those that cause foodborne illnesses. Natural antimicrobials play a vital role in food preservation and health management of bacterial infections in humans and farmed crops. More recently, there has been a significant focus on using essential oils and extracted chemicals to inhibit the growth of harmful microbes.

Various phenolics have been empirically shown to possess strong antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic properties, and are gaining attention in application within cosmetics and medicines. Their substantial significance in the industry underscores the intriguing potential of these water effluents as pharmacologically active components or organic preservatives for the future of natural medicine.