Bioconversion of Agro-Industrial Byproducts by Applying the Solid-State Fermentation Bioprocess to Increase Their Antioxidant Potency.

Agriculture and its related industries produce annually a vast amount of byproducts and waste which comprise a large proportion of global waste. Only a small percentage is managed with environmentally acceptable procedures, while a large proportion is either incinerated or discarded into nearby open fields, causing serious environmental burdens. Since these byproducts exhibit a rich nutritional and phytochemical content, they may be considered as raw materials for various industrial applications, initiating the need for the development of sustainable and eco-friendly methods for their valorization. Among the various methods considered, Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) constitutes an intriguing eco-friendly bioprocess, being suitable for water-insoluble mixtures and providing products with improved stability and depleted catabolic suppression. Thus, there are several literature studies highlighting the aspects and efficacy of SSF for improving the nutritional and phytochemical contents of diverse agro-industrial waste. The review herein aspires to summarize these literature results with a special focus on the enhancement of their antioxidant potency. For this purpose, specific keywords were used for searching multiple scientific databases with an emphasis on the most recent studies and higher impact journals. The presented data establish the usefulness and efficacy of the SSF bioprocess to obtain fermentation products with enhanced antioxidant profiles.