Medicinal Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Peels

In these days, more focus is made in improving the immune system and curing diseases by using food and food-related products. In these contexts, fruits are being extensively used to treat and prevent diseases. After utilization of fruits and vegetable, huge amount of waste is generated during pre- and post-harvesting process. This produced waste is generally discarded as waste in the dump yards which is hazardous to the environment. However, recent studies have confirmed that fruit and vegetable peel (FVP) waste can be a valuable source of bioactive compounds, due to the presence of steroids, phenolics, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, glycosides, carotenoids, ellagitannins, anthocyanins, vitamin C and essential oil. These compounds can add value to the FVP if extracted efficiently. Several economically valuable products having superior medicinal, nutritional and antioxidant properties can be obtained from FVPs by various processes like drying, size reduction, fermentation, solvent extraction and many more. The bioactive compounds in the FVP show its various uses in the treatment of wounds, acne, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and rotavirus enteritis, allergies, malaria, coughs, degenerative muscular diseases, bacterial/fungal infections, cancer, cardiovascular disorder, diabetes, liver diseases, dental plaque, inflammatory ailments including rheumatism, menstrual pain, etc. This chapter reviews the antioxidant, antiatherogenic, antimicrobial, antiallergenic, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, cardioprotective and vasodilatory properties of some commonly used FVP. This will help to obtain the maximum health benefits and maximize the industrial profits.