Tropical fruit-derived starch: An innovative strategy for high-value nutritional processing of agricultural solid waste

Abstract

Tropical fruits are popular worldwide due to their appealing flavors and diverse health benefits. However, a significant amount of waste is caused by inferior fruits that are partly eliminated from the fresh fruit market and by-products produced during transportation, storage, and processing. With increasing focus on environmental sustainability and resource conservation, recycling waste resources from tropical fruits has emerged as a hot topic of interest. Fruit-derived starch is an emerging approach to adding value for some tropical fruit waste and inferior fruits. This review article briefly overviews extraction methods, chemical composition, structural characteristics, physical and chemical properties, physiological benefits, modification techniques, and potential applications of new tropical fruit-derived starch. Compared with traditional starch, tropical fruit-derived starch exhibits unique structural and processing attributes, making it suitable as a supplement or replacement for industrial starch in the food industry. Moreover, tropical fruit-derived starch retains the rich nutrients and functional components present in fruits to some extent, thereby offering potential health benefits and greater consumer acceptance. Although current research on starch derived from tropical fruits is primarily at the laboratory stage, and there is limited exploration of its processing and application, evolving lifestyle trends and heightened health awareness are expected to foster its further development and utilization, paving the way for large-scale commercialization and driving future market growth.