Valorization of Coffee By-Products: An Overview

The world consumers and companies are facing a shortage of resources of different nature, as well as dealing with a recent pandemic and growing chronic diseases associated with different food products that in their preparation are enriched or added by substances or compounds derived from chemical synthesis; for this reason, the search for food products with biologically active and environmentally friendly properties is increasing in the markets from all over the world. These compounds are derived from plant, animal, and mineral products, especially from agro-industrial by-products that arouse the interest of the scientific community as an available, profitable, and sustainable source of a wide range of biologically active compounds. For this reason, the objective of this review focuses on one of the agricultural sectors with the highest production in the world such as the by-products derived from coffee processing, focusing on the biological potential, and the profile of bioactive compounds, of recent work, carried out by various researchers around the world. This review evaluates previous work done by different researchers on the potential represented by coffee by-products as a source of bioactive compounds such as fiber, carbohydrates, polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, procyanidins, tannins, caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and other organic compounds. These identified compounds are of vital importance to be studied separately so that each molecule has properties according to its biological activity, in addition to some food products that have already been fortified or enriched with compounds derived from the coffee pulp as well as the production of functional drink, honey, tea, syrup, and flours, making clear the high nutritional and nutraceutical value of agro-industrial by-products.