Fruit skins and pomace make up the vast majority of solid waste from the global juice, sauce, and wine industries. However, these outer protective layers are biologically designed by the plant to contain the highest concentrations of defensive phytochemicals. This initiative focuses on the selective extraction of high-value compounds—such as Lycopene from tomatoes, Quercetin from apples, and Resveratrol from grape skins. By upcycling these skins, the project creates a lucrative secondary revenue stream for agricultural processors while providing the market with 100% natural, plant-derived health ingredients.
The fruit skins are immediately separated from the wet pomace and freeze-dried (lyophilized) to prevent the degradation of heat-sensitive antioxidant molecules. They are then milled into a fine powder and subjected to Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) using CO2. This advanced green-chemistry technique operates at high pressure to dissolve and isolate specific phytochemicals without using toxic industrial solvents. The resulting pure extracts are then stabilized via microencapsulation to ensure they remain potent during long-term storage and human digestion.
