Nutritional Benefits of Peanut By-Products

Currently, one of the greatest concerns of the world society is the environmental decay: global warming, climate change, resources depletion, constitute a striking request for urgent action. Within the framework of a green and sustainable policy, an ever increasing number of applications in literature is focused on recycling and giving new life to discarded materials. An enormous bulk of waste comes from the agri-food industry, that is gaining reputation as a source of raw material and bioactives, employed in food supplements and nutraceuticals. Peanut crops represent a huge market, with a consolidated tradition of cultivation and processing in the Asian and American continents. Although the uses made of peanuts in the two regions vary (peanut oil vs. refined food products), the amount of by-products derived from peanut processing is extremely high. In this chapter, after an introduction on the agronomical and industrial aspects of Arachis hypogaea, a detailed description of its by-products is given as concerns their obtainment, proximate composition, bioactivity, and exploitation. Special emphasis is dedicated to their nutritional properties, through numerous studies reporting either in vitro assays or applications in food industry. A final remark is provided on the anti-nutrients, as well as on the allergenic potential of such matrices.