Economical and environmentally-friendly approaches for usage of onion (Allium cepa L.) waste

Food Funct. 2016 Aug 10;7(8):3354-69. doi: 10.1039/c6fo00251j. Epub 2016 Jul 26.

Abstract

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most commonly cultivated crops across the globe, and its production is increasing every year due to increasing consumer demand. Simultaneously, huge amounts of waste are produced from different parts of the onion, which ultimately affect the environment in various ways. Hence, proper usage as well as disposal of this waste is important from the environmental aspect. This review summarizes various usage methods of onion waste material, and processes involved to achieve maximum benefits. Processing industries produce the largest amount of onion waste. Other sources are storage systems, domestic usage and cultivation fields. Particular emphasis has been given to the methods used for better extraction and usage of onion waste under specific topics: viz. organic synthesis, production of biogas, absorbent for pollutants and value added products.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Crops, Agricultural / chemistry*
  • Crops, Agricultural / economics
  • Dietary Fiber / analysis
  • Fatty Acids / analysis
  • Flavonoids / analysis
  • Food Handling
  • Onions / chemistry*
  • Onions / economics
  • Phenol / analysis
  • Sulfur Compounds / analysis
  • Trace Elements / analysis
  • Waste Management / economics*

Substances

  • Dietary Fiber
  • Fatty Acids
  • Flavonoids
  • Sulfur Compounds
  • Trace Elements
  • Phenol