Sustainable Food Technology最新文献

{"title":"Comparative analysis of bioactives and protein characteristics in six genotypes of yam bean tubers","authors":"Rewati Raman Bhattarai, Geethu Sulochana, Riddhiben Ghanshyambhai Maheta, Anita Severn-Ellis, Kalidas Pati, N. U. Sruthi, Amboge Samson and Stuart Johnson","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00398A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00398A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Yam bean (<em>Pachyrrhizus</em> spp.) is a diverse genus of high-moisture tuber crops with useful agricultural properties but limited nutritional and health benefits due to its low nutrient density. Only a few species with limited genotypic variability are produced globally, such as <em>P. erosus</em> (jicama), <em>P. tuberosus</em> (goiteño), and <em>P. ahipa</em> (ahipa). However, there is a deficit of compositional information on indigenous landraces, which could assist in the future selection and breeding of yam bean tubers with improved nutritional and health properties. The present study evaluated the proximate composition, protein characteristics, and some phytochemical properties of two indigenous landraces, one of <em>P. tuberosus</em> and the other of <em>P. erosus</em>. Individual tuber weight and moisture content of whole tuber were significantly higher (<em>p</em> ≥ 0.05) in <em>P. erosus</em> than in <em>P. tuberosus</em> samples. While <em>P. erosus</em> showed greater protein digestibility, <em>P. tuberosus</em> exhibited superior biochemical properties with respect to total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and ascorbic acid levels, with significant variation observed among genotypes and species. HPLC analysis further identified diverse phenolic compounds in the yam bean tuber, including gallic acid, coumaric acid, and ferulic acid. These findings provide detailed compositional data on under-studied indigenous yam bean landraces, supporting their future use in food and nutrition research.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 2074-2087"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00398a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Artisanal production of semolina: an agro-industrial prospect for the reduction of post-harvest losses of roots, tubers, and plantains in sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Mundéné-Timothée Junior Lawrence, Veeranna Hitlamani, Nouga Bissoue Achille, Aashitosh A. Inamdar, Mouangue Ruben and Njintang Yanou Nicolas","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00326A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00326A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The region of sub-Saharan Africa faces major food and nutrition security challenges because of post-harvest losses (PHLs), which affect its essential roots, tubers, and plantains (RTPs) as calorie sources. The combination of inefficient supply chains, inadequate infrastructure, equipment, and these losses creates serious economic and nutritional consequences. The evaluation examines the scalability of traditional food crop processing into semolina in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to fight PHLs while creating economic opportunities for rural communities. The inclusion criteria required studies demonstrating artisanal RTP processing into semolina in sub-Saharan Africa while showing the traditional food crops associated with PHL origins. The research data demonstrated that different production methods exist across various regional and cultural groups. The studies reveal that RTP semolina production involves five fundamental steps: peeling, grating, fermentation and squeezing, and finally heat treatment through roasting or steaming. The research demonstrates that fermentation is a crucial process that shapes final product characteristics and operating conditions by reducing toxic cyanogenic compounds and creating distinctive semolina flavours. The artisanal processing method decreases post-harvest losses through its ability to lengthen product shelf life and create higher market value from processed products. The socio-economic advantages of artisanal production include greater earnings for predominantly women producers and better availability of nutritious food in local communities. Implementing integrated policies is essential for establishing a sustainable food system to support artisanal semolina production and consumption of m'bahou, attiéké, gari, and tapioca. Using systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or blockchain to ensure the traceability of traditional food crops from farm to consumer could also help reduce PHL significantly.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1744-1765"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00326a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-iron oxygen scavengers in food packaging: mechanisms, applications, and the shift towards green alternatives","authors":"Prachi Jain, Bhushan P. Meshram, Suman Singh and Kirtiraj K. Gaikwad","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00368G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00368G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Oxygen exposure in packaged foods accelerates oxidative spoilage, microbial growth, and sensory degradation. Although iron-based oxygen scavengers dominate current applications, concerns about safety, recyclability, and consumer acceptance have driven interest in non-iron alternatives. This review critically examines recent developments in natural and synthetic non-iron oxygen scavengers, including antioxidants (ascorbic acid and tocopherol), unsaturated hydrocarbons (polybutadiene), enzymes (glucose oxidase and catalase), microorganisms, and polyphenolic plant extracts (gallic acid and catechu). Reported oxygen scavenging capacities range from 6.44 mL O<small>₂</small> g<small>⁻¹</small> (α-tocopherol) to 200 mL O<small>₂</small> g<small>⁻¹</small> (polybutadiene), with activation often triggered by moisture, UV light, or pH. Plant-based systems, such as catechu–calcium carbonate combinations, stand out as biodegradable and food-safe alternatives, making them especially suitable for moisture-rich foods. Compared to conventional iron-based scavengers, these systems offer advantages in terms of safety, sustainability, and consumer appeal. This review further discusses activation mechanisms, incorporation into polymer matrices, regulatory issues, and barriers to commercialization. Emerging trends include biodegradable films, multifunctional packaging, and smart indicators, which highlight non-iron oxygen scavengers as promising solutions for safer and more sustainable active packaging.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1668-1680"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00368g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative evaluation and optimization of microwave and ultrasound assisted extraction of stevia secondary bioactive compounds using RSM and ANN–GA approaches","authors":"Prakash Kumar and Punyadarshini Punam Tripathy","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00329F","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00329F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The increasing demand for functional foods enriched with bioactive compounds has encouraged the exploration of advanced extraction techniques. <em>Stevia rebaudiana</em>, a natural herb rich in bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties, shows considerable potential for functional food applications. This study optimized microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) to maximize the recovery of stevia's secondary bioactive metabolites. Single-factor analysis revealed that a 50% ethanol concentration at 50 °C significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) increased the phenolic content by 33.06% compared to water as a solvent. Second-order quadratic models developed using response surface methodology (RSM) showed strong statistical significance (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.0001) and high adjusted <em>R</em><small>²</small> values, ranging from 0.8893–0.9533 for MAE and 0.9177–0.9326 for UAE, confirming model reliability. Comparative experimental design analysis indicated that MAE outperformed UAE, yielding 8.07%, 11.34%, and 5.82% higher total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (AA), respectively, with 58.33% less extraction time. Artificial neural networks coupled with genetic algorithm (ANN–GA) models further improved predictive accuracy, with the MAE model achieving an <em>R</em><small>²</small> of 0.9985 and a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.7029, outperforming the UAE model (<em>R</em><small>²</small> of 0.9981 and MSE of 0.8362). The ANN–GA predicted optimized MAE conditions of 5.15 min extraction time, 284.05 W microwave power, 53.10% ethanol concentration, and 53.89 °C temperature, yielded higher TPC, TFC, and AA values with minimal error. These results established MAE as a more efficient, sustainable, and effective method for extracting bioactive compounds from stevia leaves compared to UAE.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 2170-2191"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00329f?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physical and functional properties of pulsed-ultraviolet treated starch based films with papaya leaf extract","authors":"T. Yin Feng, M. I. Nur Hidayah, F. Han Lyn and Z. A. Nur Hanani","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00350D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00350D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This study developed corn starch (CS) films incorporating aqueous papaya leaf extract (PLE) and examined the effects of pulsed ultraviolet (PUV) treatment at 4, 12, and 15 J cm<small>⁻²</small> on their physical, mechanical, and antioxidant properties. PLE incorporation increased opacity, water contact angle, surface roughness, and antioxidant activity, but reduced solubility, water vapour permeability (WVP), and tensile strength. PUV treatment further decreased thickness, solubility, and WVP, while significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) increasing tensile strength and reducing elongation at break, consistent with starch retrogradation and increased crystallinity. Colour, opacity, hydrophilicity, and antioxidant capacity, measured by total phenolic content (TPC) and DPPH scavenging, remained unaffected (<em>p</em> ≥ 0.05) by PUV. CS films containing PLE exhibited 90.45% higher TPC than pure CS films (control). Phenolic migration was greater in water than ethanol, reflecting the films' hydrophilic nature and faster release in aqueous environments. Overall, PUV treatment improved the mechanical durability of CS + PLE films without compromising antioxidant activity, supporting their potential as sustainable active packaging with tailored release for specific food systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1986-1995"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00350d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microwave vacuum drying of Concord grape (Vitis labrusca) pomace: drying kinetics and quality attributes for enhanced valorization","authors":"Viral Shukla, Olga I. Padilla-Zakour and Chang Chen","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00189G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00189G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Concord grape (<em>Vitis labrusca</em>) pomace is a major processing waste and a valuable byproduct from the grape food industry that needs to be valorized. Microwave vacuum drying (MVD) was studied as a novel efficient technology to dry Concord grape pomace. Pomace cubes were dried under 8 kPa vacuum at 540, 1080, 2160 W microwave powers. Hot air drying (HAD) at 60 °C was used for comparison. The drying time, drying rates, effective moisture diffusivity, color metrics, and phenolic contents were experimentally determined. Drying kinetics during MVD were studied using the Page model and a mechanistic model coupling heat and moisture transfer characteristics. MVD reduced pomace moisture from 79% to 5% wet basis in 20–50 min, with 10-times higher average drying rates than HAD. The effective moisture diffusivity during MVD ranged from 1.1 × 10<small>⁻⁷</small> to 3.4 × 10<small>⁻⁷</small> m<small>²</small> s<small>⁻¹</small>, which increased with the increase in power density (W g<small>⁻¹</small>) and decrease in sample moisture. The mechanistic and empirical models fitted the validation data well (<em>R</em><small>_adj</small><small>²</small> = 0.970 to 0.998). The pomace color was preserved without significant influences (<em>p</em> &gt; 0.05) by drying time nor microwave power. The total polyphenolic content increased with the decrease in sample moisture, but not significantly influenced by the microwave power. Findings from this study suggest that MVD is a promising drying method for the grape industry to valorize grape pomace with improved quality and sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1793-1804"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00189g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing a chickpea protein–flaxseed oil emulsion gel meat analogue using the freeze-alignment technique","authors":"Tharindu Trishan Dapana Durage, Anand Kumar, Chien-I. Hsu, Kaushalya Wickramasinghe, Swapnil Ganesh Jaiswal, Rakesh Kumar Gupta and Prem Prakash Srivastav","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00245A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00245A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The rising demand for sustainable protein alternatives has driven the development of plant-based meat analogues to address environmental, ethical, and health concerns associated with animal-derived meat. This study aimed to develop a chickpea protein–flaxseed oil emulsion gel meat analogue using the freeze-alignment technique and to optimize its formulation for desirable physicochemical and nutritional properties. A Box–Behnken design was employed to evaluate the effects of freezing temperature (−5 °C to −15 °C), solid-to-liquid (S/L) ratio (5–15% w/w), and chickpea protein isolate-to-flour (CP/CF) ratio (25–75% w/w) on six critical responses: moisture content, water holding capacity (WHC), cutting force, cooking loss, frying loss, and water activity. The optimal processing conditions were identified as a freezing temperature of −10.00 °C, an S/L ratio of 7.00%, and a CP/CF ratio of 75.00%, resulting in a desirability score of 0.8393. Under these conditions, the final product exhibited a moisture content of 65.63%, WHC of 70.38%, cutting force of 18.27 N, cooking loss of 15.02%, frying loss of 24.94%, and water activity of 0.91. The corresponding protein content reached 26.48% on a dry basis, and the fat content was 4.21% (wet basis), reflecting a balanced nutritional profile. Rheological analysis of the emulsion slurry confirmed shear-thinning behavior with low temperature sensitivity (<em>E</em><small>_a</small> = 10.046 kJ mol<small>⁻¹</small>), indicating stable flow properties. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a porous, fibrous microstructure with uniform ice crystal templating, confirming the effectiveness of the freeze-alignment process. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of producing a nutritionally valuable and structurally stable chickpea-based meat analogue. However, high moisture levels could limit shelf-life, necessitating further investigation into non-freezing preservation methods and sensory evaluation to enhance consumer acceptance and industrial applicability.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1996-2008"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00245a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Valorization of Spanish lime (Melicoccus bijugatus) shell waste: optimized pectin recovery and preliminary evaluation in edible film formation","authors":"Che John and Rohanie Maharaj","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00321K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00321K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Valorizing agro-industrial by-products into high-value materials aligns with the growing emphasis on circular bioeconomy strategies. In this study, shell waste from Spanish lime (<em>Melicoccus bijugatus</em>) was investigated as a novel source of pectin, with subsequent development of an edible film as a potential sustainable packaging application. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the yield and viscosity-average molecular weight of the pectin obtained through hot acid extraction. The pectin was characterized for its physico-chemical and techno-functional properties and then used to develop an edible film. Optimal conditions for maximizing pectin yield (16.37%) were 180 minutes extraction time, a solid–liquid ratio of 1 : 50, and a solvent pH of 1.5 while maximum molecular weight (37 445.18 Da) was achieved at 60 minutes extraction time, a solid–liquid ratio of 1 : 30, and a solvent pH of 3.5. The extracted pectin had an equivalent weight of 1744.66 g mol<small>⁻¹</small> and was classified as high methoxyl pectin, with a degree of esterification of 80.4%. Notably, the pectin exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity than commercial citrus pectin, with a 20% greater DPPH radical scavenging capacity and a 6.5-fold higher FRAP value. Preliminary testing of the film made from the extracted pectin showed that the film had a DPPH scavenging rate of 25.6%, a FRAP value of 224.65 and had significantly lower oxygen permeability than both PET and HDPE controls. These results demonstrate that the <em>Melicoccus bijugatus</em> shell wastes are a promising source of antioxidant-rich pectin suitable for edible film applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 1972-1985"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00321k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainable production of bioactive pandan leaf extract microcapsules via optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction and spray drying","authors":"Nilar Oo, Saeid Jafari, Saranya Jansamutr and Kitipong Assatarakul","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00341E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00341E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Pandan (<em>Pandanus amaryllifolius</em> Roxb.) leaves are a promising source of bioactive compounds, yet their application in functional foods remains limited due to the lack of optimized extraction and stabilization techniques. This study employed response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of pandan leaf extract (PLE), targeting maximal recovery of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP assays). Optimal UAE conditions—60% ethanol, 40% amplitude, and 20-minute sonication—yielded extracts with significant antioxidant and antibacterial activities, with inhibition zones of 27 mm (<em>Bacillus cereus</em>), 29 mm (<em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>), and 18 mm (<em>Escherichia coli</em>). To enhance stability and facilitate incorporation into functional foods, the PLE was microencapsulated <em>via</em> spray drying using gum arabic (GA), resistant maltodextrin (RMD), and their mixture (GRMD) in 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 ratios. The GRMD (1 : 1) formulation exhibited superior encapsulation efficiency (93.03%), bioactive retention, low water activity, and high solubility. Over 90 days of storage, microcapsules packed in vacuum-sealed aluminum foil laminated bags retained the highest bioactivity, with final TPC, TFC, DPPH, and FRAP values of 157.91 mg GAE/100 g db, 21.49 mg QE/100 g db, 324.75 mM Trolox/100 g db, and 444.84 mM Trolox/100 g db, respectively. This study demonstrates the potential of combining UAE and GRMD microencapsulation using spray drying to sustainably produce stable, bioactive pandan leaf extract microcapsules for use in functional food systems. Further studies are recommended to assess sensory acceptance, bioaccessibility, and scale-up potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 2144-2157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00341e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Debittered pomelo (Citrus maxima) seed powder as a functional ingredient in low-fat ice cream","authors":"Sayantan Chakraborty, Gunjana Deka, Jinku Bora and Himjyoti Dutta","doi":"10.1039/D5FB00320B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FB00320B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >By-product valorisation is a hallmark of sustainable processing and resource efficiency. Repurposing wastes into functional entities fosters environmentally responsible and viable industrial practices. In this study, pomelo (<em>Citrus maxima</em>) seed powder was explored as a functional ingredient in low-fat ice cream. Both raw (OSP) and de-oiled seed powders (DSPs) were first debittered using appropriate methods, achieving over 90% reduction in limonin and naringin. The processes also remarkably eliminated tannins, phytic acid and trypsin inhibitors. DSP exhibited &gt;200% enhancement in functional properties over OSP. Improved melting resistance (0.32 g min<small>⁻¹</small> to 0.64 g min<small>⁻¹</small>) and reduced overrun (51.49% to 29.74%), indicating enhanced ice cream matrix stability, were attained. Hardness, adhesiveness, and gumminess increased with rising concentrations (1–5%) of the powder, indicating the roles of seed polysaccharides and proteins in inducing structural integrity in the pseudoplastic emulsions. This was supported by steady and dynamic rheometry, revealing significant enhancements in apparent viscosity (1.52 Pa s to 9.33 Pa s), consistency index (7.36 Pa s to 47.92 Pa s), yield stress (23.83 Pa to 398.74 Pa) and viscoelastic moduli (<em>G</em>′ and <em>G</em>′′), with decreases in the flow behaviour index (0.66 to 0.17) and loss tangent (0.251 to 0.137). However, prominent color differences, as affirmed by spectrophotometric analysis of lightness (<em>L</em>*), whiteness (WI) and yellowness (<em>b</em>*) occurred. Fuzzy logic-based sensory evaluation identified the formulation with 4% DSP as the most acceptable in terms of taste, creaminess, mouthfeel and appearance. Nutritional analysis re-confirmed the low-caloric nature of the final product. Hence, the processed seed powder served a dual-function as a fat mimetic and stabilizer in the low-fat dairy system.</p>","PeriodicalId":101198,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Food Technology","volume":" 6","pages":" 2009-2031"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fb/d5fb00320b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145500506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}