Processing waste material from the peanut blanching industry can be treated to remove compounds that have health promoting properties
Peanuts are consumed worldwide and prized for their delicious flavor when roasted and well as providing a source of valued cooking oil. As part of their processing for food, the paper like red skins are first removed and treated as waste. This material, referred to as testa or “skins” is a source of polyphenols, which are compounds that have been shown to have antioxidant activity in chemical assays.
Research was conducted by Wanida Lewis, a doctoral student in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University under the direction of Lisa Dean and in cooperation with the Market Quality and Handling Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services was published in the journal, Food and Nutrition Sciences, in 2013, vol. 4 by Scientific Research Publishing(View Original Post). Her study used aqueous solutions of acetone and ethanol to recover the polyphenols from peanut skins obtained from local peanut blanching facilities. After freeze-drying to aid storage and handling, the extracts were tested using ORAC assay to determine antioxidant activity. It was found that the antioxidant activity of the extracts was higher than many food products such as berries and nearly as high as antioxidant spices such as cinnamon. These extracts were then added to RAW 264.7 cells in culture that have previously been challenged with lipopolysaccharide to induce inflammation. Both prostaglandin and nitrous oxide production was reduced in the treated cells compared to untreated controls indicating the addition of the extracts reduced inflammation.
This work shows that peanut skins which have little economic value to the food industry, are a source of valuable polyphenol compounds which can be used as antioxidants and can reduce inflammation in living cells.
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