Castanea sativa Mill. is a species of the family Fagaceae abundant in south Europe and Asia. The fruits (chestnut) are an added value resource in producing countries. Chestnut economic value is increasing not only for nutritional qualities but also for the beneficial health effects related with its consumption. During chestnut processing, a large amount of waste material is generated namely inner shell, outer shell and leaves. Studies on chestnut by-products revealed a good profile of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and cardioprotective properties. These agro-industrial wastes, after valorisation, can be used by other industries, such as pharmaceutical, food or cosmetics, generating more profits, reducing pollution costs and improving social, economic and environmental sustainability. The purpose of this review is to provide knowledge about the type of chestnut by-products produced, the studies concerning its chemical composition and biological activity, and also to discuss other possible applications of these materials.

The present study was aimed to assess the macronutrient composition and the amino acid and vitamin E profiles of Castanea sativa shell from different production regions of Portugal (Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Beira-Alta). The nutritional composition was similar for all samples, with a high moisture content and low fat amounts. Arginine and leucine were the predominant essential amino acids (EAA) accounting for 3.55-7.21% and 1.59-2.08%, respectively, for samples of the different production zones. All the shells presented high contents of vitamin E (481.5 mg per 100 g sample, 962.8 mg per 100 g sample and 567.5 mg per 100 g sample, respectively, for Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Beira-Alta). The predominant vitamer was γ-tocopherol (670 mg per 100 g sample for Trás-os-Montes). The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of C. sativa shell were also determined. Trás-os-Montes extracts displayed the highest antioxidant activity (EC50 = 31.8 ± 1.3 μg mL(-1) for DPPH; 8083.5 ± 164.8 μmol per mg db for FRAP). The total phenolic content (TPC) varied from 241.9 mg to 796.8 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per g db sample, the highest TPC being obtained for Trás-os-Montes. The total flavonoid content (TFC) varied from 31.4 to 43.3 mg of catechin equivalents (CEQ) per g db sample. No antimicrobial activity was observed. The results showed the potentialities of C. sativa shell extracts.

Castanea sativa fruit processing generates high amounts of by-products, mostly bur. Currently, the cosmetic industry has a great interest in natural extracts as antioxidant sources. In the present study, C. sativa bur extract was used as the active ingredient, in different amounts, in topical hydrogels. The formulations were characterized regarding total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC, respectively), antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)) and technological and microbiological properties. The same parameters were evaluated after 30 days of storage at 4 • C (T 30/4• C) and 20At time 0 (T 0 ), the TPC ranged between 0.79 and 9.65 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g gel, while TFC varied from 0.05 to 1.23 mg of catechin equivalents (CAE)/g gel. Antioxidant activity was high for both assays, with values at T 0 ranging between 98.41 and 1013.43 µmol of ferrous sulphate equivalents (FSE)/g gel and varying between 431.96 and 990.84 µg of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g gel for FRAP and DPPH assays, respectively. No formulation exceeded the defined criteria in microbiological counts. All formulations showed similar technological profiles but particular attention should be given to pH. The gel with 50% of extract (F3) was selected as the best one for potential cosmetic applications.

Chestnuts are a common food product in Mediterranean countries, being recognized also for their beneficial effects on human health. Nevertheless, during processing, these fruits generate a large amount of food by-products, such as shells and burs. In the present work, the macronutrient composition, vitamin E profile and amino acid content of the burs were determined in samples from three different Portuguese regions (Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Beira-Alta). The nutritional composition was similar for all samples, being characterised by a high moisture content and low fat amounts. All essential amino acids were present in considerable amounts. Concerning vitamin E, the predominant vitamer was α-tocopherol for the Minho and Beira-Alta samples. The total phenolic compounds were quantified, and the antioxidant activity evaluated in different extracts using two biochemical assays (DPPH˙ and FRAP). All bur extracts showed a high total phenolic content, the highest obtained being that for the Beira-Alta samples. The chestnut bur from Minho showed the highest antioxidant activity in both assays. This study aims to demonstrate the potential of the Castanea sativa bur as a cosmetic and nutraceutical ingredient.

-Piper hispidinervium C.DC (Piperaceae) is popularly known as long pepper. It grows in degraded areas of natural fields in the state of Acre, Brazil. Its leaves are 3 to 4 % essential oil rich in safrole, within the range of 90 to 94 %. In the chemical industry, safrole is an important raw material, mainly due to two of its derivatives: heliotropin, which is widely used as a fragrance and flavoring agent, and piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a vital ingredient of pyrethroid insecticides. Natural pyrethrum in particular would not be an economical insecticide without the synergistic effect of PBO; therefore, its industrial future is linked to the continued availability of PBO. As a fragrance, safrole has many applications in household products such as floor waxes, polishes, soaps, detergents and cleaning agents. In this work, leaves were dried in a fixed-bed dryer using different drying-air temperatures (35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 ºC) and drying times (900, 2700 and 3600 seconds). Essential oil was extracted by cohobation (meaning that the condensed water that comes out of the flask is recycled) from both raw and dried leaves. The essential oil yield and safrole content are susceptible to rapid loss of moisture by Piper hispidinervium C. DC leaves. It was observed that the essential oil yield increased twice after the drying process. However, safrole content decreased about 20 percent when temperature was above 50 ºC and drying times were more than 2700 minutes.

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The drying phenomenon can be treated as simultaneous heat and mass transfer in both the light and heavy phases. In the present case, the phenomenon’s evolution is normally observed through the heating of and moisture removal from the heavy phase. On the other hand, while the material is heating, the light phase is cooling and humidifying. The goal of the present work is to present discharge air humidification curves as a function of the drying time for Eucalyptus staigeriana leaves drying experiments. For the air humidification measurements, a dry bulb thermocouple and relative humidity transducer were installed at both the dryer inlet and outlet. The dryer was linked to a data acquisition system, which recorded the dry bulb temperature and the relative humidity with time. These data were later used to calculate the air moisture content at the dryer inlet and outlet. The data obtained by this methodology are compared with the ones from drying kinetic (moisture content removing of the heavy phase along time), acquired by the evolution of wet material weight through the use of an analytical scale.