June 07, 2024 | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
Khon Kaen University in Thailand has conducted a study exploring the potential of utilizing tropical fruit waste, especially fruit peels, as valuable sources of phytonutrients (PTNs) for enhancing feed additives for ruminants. Tropical fruits such as banana, citrus fruit, dragon fruit, durian, jackfruit, mango, mangosteen, passion fruit, pineapple, pomegranate, and rambutan are often used in the production of juices, jams, jellies, and canned products, with their peels typically discarded as waste. This review aims to address waste reduction while meeting the growing demand for PTNs, which have antibacterial, antioxidant, methane production inhibitory, and rumen fermentation-enhancing properties.
The review provides a comprehensive overview of existing research on the biological capabilities of tropical fruit peel wastes and their PTN profiles. The focus is on their potential to enhance rumen fermentation characteristics and production, while simultaneously reducing methane (CH4) emissions. The findings indicate that fruit peel waste products can buffer rumen pH levels, improve nutrient digestibility, ammonia-nitrogen (NH3–N) concentrations, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations, and microbial populations, as well as enhancing milk production and decreasing CH4 production. This suggests that tropical fruit peel wastes could serve as a viable alternative plant-based PTN supplement for ruminant feed additives.