Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds
Background: Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are attracting increasing interest from consumers, industry, and the healthcare community due to their high content of bioactive compounds, including (poly)phenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Despite the continued growth in global walnut...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:ubarcelona__::7614253c5bdc0c052a6101fa5805f683 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229186 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Cuina (Nous) Fruita seca Polifenols Compostos bioactius Cooking (Nuts) Dried fruit Polyphenols Bioactive compounds |
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Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compoundsCampins Machado, Francesc MiquelAbarca-Rivas, ClaraCorrado, MarinaPérez Bosch, MariaVallverdú i Queralt, AnnaCuina (Nous)Fruita secaPolifenolsCompostos bioactiusCooking (Nuts)Dried fruitPolyphenolsBioactive compoundsBackground: Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are attracting increasing interest from consumers, industry, and the healthcare community due to their high content of bioactive compounds, including (poly)phenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Despite the continued growth in global walnut production, the effective valorisation of walnut processing by-products remains a challenge. While most research has focused on the edible kernel, emerging evidence suggests that underutilized walnut fractions may also represent valuable sources of compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to characterize the bioactive compound profiles of green walnuts, defective walnuts, and walnut shells in comparison to commercial whole walnuts and kernels. Methods: Samples collected from an orchard located in Huesca (Spain) were homogenized and analysed in triplicate. Proximate composition was performed following the official methods, fatty acid profile was determined by GC-FID, phenolic profile by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS, and carotenoids and tocopherols by UPLC-DAD. Results: Green walnuts contained exceptionally high concentrations of carotenoids, especially β-carotene (629.7 ± 39.4 mg/kg). Walnut shells were the richest source of phenolic compounds, notably ellagic acid (713.3 ± 7.6 mg/kg) and catechin (71.9 ± 1.2 mg/kg). Tocopherols were mainly concentrated in the kernel, dominated by γ-tocopherol (226.9 ± 8.1 mg/kg), while defective walnuts showed a compositional profile similar to commercial walnuts. Conclusions: This comparative analysis highlights the significant potential of walnut processing by-products as sources of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds. The findings support their valorisation as functional ingredients for agro-food and cosmetic applications within a circular economy framework.Royal Society of Chemistry2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/229186Articles publicats en revistes (Nutrició, Ciències de l'Alimentació i Gastronomia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6fo00494fFood & Function, 2026, vol. 17, p. 3161-3171https://doi.org/10.1039/d6fo00494fcc by-nc (c) Campins-Machado, F. M. et al., 2026https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:ubarcelona__::7614253c5bdc0c052a6101fa5805f6832026-05-27T06:46:51Z |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| title |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| spellingShingle |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds Campins Machado, Francesc Miquel Cuina (Nous) Fruita seca Polifenols Compostos bioactius Cooking (Nuts) Dried fruit Polyphenols Bioactive compounds |
| title_short |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| title_full |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| title_fullStr |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| title_sort |
Upcycling walnut (Juglans regia L.) by-products: Characterisation of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Campins Machado, Francesc Miquel Abarca-Rivas, Clara Corrado, Marina Pérez Bosch, Maria Vallverdú i Queralt, Anna |
| author |
Campins Machado, Francesc Miquel |
| author_facet |
Campins Machado, Francesc Miquel Abarca-Rivas, Clara Corrado, Marina Pérez Bosch, Maria Vallverdú i Queralt, Anna |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
Abarca-Rivas, Clara Corrado, Marina Pérez Bosch, Maria Vallverdú i Queralt, Anna |
| author2_role |
author author author author |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Cuina (Nous) Fruita seca Polifenols Compostos bioactius Cooking (Nuts) Dried fruit Polyphenols Bioactive compounds |
| topic |
Cuina (Nous) Fruita seca Polifenols Compostos bioactius Cooking (Nuts) Dried fruit Polyphenols Bioactive compounds |
| description |
Background: Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are attracting increasing interest from consumers, industry, and the healthcare community due to their high content of bioactive compounds, including (poly)phenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Despite the continued growth in global walnut production, the effective valorisation of walnut processing by-products remains a challenge. While most research has focused on the edible kernel, emerging evidence suggests that underutilized walnut fractions may also represent valuable sources of compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to characterize the bioactive compound profiles of green walnuts, defective walnuts, and walnut shells in comparison to commercial whole walnuts and kernels. Methods: Samples collected from an orchard located in Huesca (Spain) were homogenized and analysed in triplicate. Proximate composition was performed following the official methods, fatty acid profile was determined by GC-FID, phenolic profile by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS, and carotenoids and tocopherols by UPLC-DAD. Results: Green walnuts contained exceptionally high concentrations of carotenoids, especially β-carotene (629.7 ± 39.4 mg/kg). Walnut shells were the richest source of phenolic compounds, notably ellagic acid (713.3 ± 7.6 mg/kg) and catechin (71.9 ± 1.2 mg/kg). Tocopherols were mainly concentrated in the kernel, dominated by γ-tocopherol (226.9 ± 8.1 mg/kg), while defective walnuts showed a compositional profile similar to commercial walnuts. Conclusions: This comparative analysis highlights the significant potential of walnut processing by-products as sources of nutritionally relevant bioactive compounds. The findings support their valorisation as functional ingredients for agro-food and cosmetic applications within a circular economy framework. |
| publishDate |
2026 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2026 |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| format |
article |
| status_str |
publishedVersion |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229186 |
| url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229186 |
| dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
Inglés |
| language_invalid_str_mv |
Inglés |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6fo00494f Food & Function, 2026, vol. 17, p. 3161-3171 https://doi.org/10.1039/d6fo00494f |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
cc by-nc (c) Campins-Machado, F. M. et al., 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| rights_invalid_str_mv |
cc by-nc (c) Campins-Machado, F. M. et al., 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
| dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Royal Society of Chemistry |
| publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Royal Society of Chemistry |
| dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Articles publicats en revistes (Nutrició, Ciències de l'Alimentació i Gastronomia) reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB instname:Universidad de Barcelona |
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Universidad de Barcelona |
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Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
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Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
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