EXTRACTION OF BIOCHEMICALS FROM THE WINE INDUSTRY BY-PRODUCTS AND THEIR VALORIZATION

The production process of wine and distilled generates several by-products (20-30% of total production). Currently, most of thesolid by-products (pomace, stalks, lees and seeds) obtained as do wnstream of the vinery industry, are conferred to the distilleryor, less frequently, used in agriculture and for energy production. As a consequence, much of the antioxidant compoundscontained in the grape is unused in the products of processing and is lost. These substances (among which the most important arepolyphenols, anthocyanins and resveratrol) are a heterogeneous group of compounds particularly known for their beneficialeffects on human health. In this article we present the results arising from a pilot scale research devoted to the evaluation of theextraction of such important compounds from the by-products of f our varieties of Italian grape varieties. The pomaces obtainedafter wine production were extracted by innovative technologies, such as steam explosion and enzymatic extraction, without theuse of organic solvents. The results show that it is possible to recover relevant amounts of polyphenols (up to 1383±50 mgGAE/L), anthocyanins (up to 148±2 mg/L) and resveratrol (up to 0.064 mg/L) from such by-products. Moreover, the recoveredbiochemicals are functional and act as radical scavenger, suggesting possible future applications in the cosmetics industry. Thenovel approach proposed here supports the pos sible application of steam explosion as industrial tech niques to recover valuablecompounds from grape pomace in a sustainable perspective from the economic and environmental standpoint