Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds

Spent coffee grounds are the most abundant waste generated during the preparation of coffee beverages, amounting to 60 million tons per year worldwide. Excessive food waste production has become a global issue, emphasizing the need for waste valorization through the bioprocess of solid-state ferment...

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Main Authors: Karla A. Luna, Cristóbal N. Aguilar, Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán, Héctor A. Ruiz, José Luis Martínez, Mónica L. Chávez-González
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Fermentation
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/7/366
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author Karla A. Luna
Cristóbal N. Aguilar
Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán
Héctor A. Ruiz
José Luis Martínez
Mónica L. Chávez-González
author_facet Karla A. Luna
Cristóbal N. Aguilar
Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán
Héctor A. Ruiz
José Luis Martínez
Mónica L. Chávez-González
author_sort Karla A. Luna
collection DOAJ
description Spent coffee grounds are the most abundant waste generated during the preparation of coffee beverages, amounting to 60 million tons per year worldwide. Excessive food waste production has become a global issue, emphasizing the need for waste valorization through the bioprocess of solid-state fermentation (SSF) for high added-value compounds. This work aims to identify the operational conditions for optimizing the solid-state fermentation process of spent coffee grounds to recover bioactive compounds (as polyphenols). An SSF process was performed using two filamentous fungi (<i>Trichoderma harzianum</i> and <i>Rhizopus oryzae</i>). An exploratory design based on the Hunter & Hunter method was applied to analyze the effects of key parameters such as inoculum size (spores/mL), humidity (%), and temperature (°C). Subsequently, a Box–Behnken experimental design was carried out to recovery of total polyphenols. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays evaluated antioxidant activity. The maximum concentration of polyphenols was observed in treatment T3 (0.279 ± 0.002 TPC mg/g SCG) using <i>T. harzianum</i>, and a similar result was obtained with <i>R. oryzae</i> in the same treatment (0.250 ± 0.011 TPC mg/g SCG). In the Box–Behnken design, the most efficient treatment for <i>T. harzianum</i> was T12 (0.511 ± 0.017 TPC mg/g SCG), and for <i>R. oryzae,</i> T9 (0.636 ± 0.003 TPC mg/g SCG). These extracts could have applications in the food industry to improve preservation and functionality.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-9743840764524700bf24962ff0290bce2025-08-20T03:58:30ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372025-06-0111736610.3390/fermentation11070366Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive CompoundsKarla A. Luna0Cristóbal N. Aguilar1Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán2Héctor A. Ruiz3José Luis Martínez4Mónica L. Chávez-González5Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, MexicoBioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, MexicoSchool of Biological Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Unidad Torreón, Torreón 27276, Coahuila, MexicoBiorefinery Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, MexicoBioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, MexicoBioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, MexicoSpent coffee grounds are the most abundant waste generated during the preparation of coffee beverages, amounting to 60 million tons per year worldwide. Excessive food waste production has become a global issue, emphasizing the need for waste valorization through the bioprocess of solid-state fermentation (SSF) for high added-value compounds. This work aims to identify the operational conditions for optimizing the solid-state fermentation process of spent coffee grounds to recover bioactive compounds (as polyphenols). An SSF process was performed using two filamentous fungi (<i>Trichoderma harzianum</i> and <i>Rhizopus oryzae</i>). An exploratory design based on the Hunter & Hunter method was applied to analyze the effects of key parameters such as inoculum size (spores/mL), humidity (%), and temperature (°C). Subsequently, a Box–Behnken experimental design was carried out to recovery of total polyphenols. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays evaluated antioxidant activity. The maximum concentration of polyphenols was observed in treatment T3 (0.279 ± 0.002 TPC mg/g SCG) using <i>T. harzianum</i>, and a similar result was obtained with <i>R. oryzae</i> in the same treatment (0.250 ± 0.011 TPC mg/g SCG). In the Box–Behnken design, the most efficient treatment for <i>T. harzianum</i> was T12 (0.511 ± 0.017 TPC mg/g SCG), and for <i>R. oryzae,</i> T9 (0.636 ± 0.003 TPC mg/g SCG). These extracts could have applications in the food industry to improve preservation and functionality.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/7/366biomassfermentationpolyphenolsoptimizationmicroorganismantioxidant activity
spellingShingle Karla A. Luna
Cristóbal N. Aguilar
Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán
Héctor A. Ruiz
José Luis Martínez
Mónica L. Chávez-González
Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
Fermentation
biomass
fermentation
polyphenols
optimization
microorganism
antioxidant activity
title Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
title_full Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
title_fullStr Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
title_full_unstemmed Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
title_short Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
title_sort bioprocessing of spent coffee grounds as a sustainable alternative for the production of bioactive compounds
topic biomass
fermentation
polyphenols
optimization
microorganism
antioxidant activity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/7/366
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