Microbial-processing of fruit and vegetable wastes for production of vital enzymes and organic acids: Biotechnology and scopes

Abstract

Wastes generated from fruits and vegetables are organic in nature and contribute a major share in soil and water pollution. Also, green house gas emission caused by fruit and vegetable wastes (FVWs) is a matter of serious environmental concern. This review addresses the developments over the last one decade on microbial processing technologies for production of enzymes and organic acids from FVWs. The advances in genetic engineering for improvement of microbial strains in order to enhance the production of the value added bio-products as well as the concept of zero-waste economy have been briefly discussed.

Keywords: Enzymes; Fruit and vegetable wastes; Improvement of microbial strains; Microbial processing; Organic acids; Solid state fermentation; Submerged fermentation.