Transformative upcycling of fruit-vegetable waste for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical breakthroughs and circular economy evolution

Annually, the global production of Fruit and Vegetables (FV) amounts to nine billion tons to satisfy the growing population's needs. However, over one billion metric tons are wasted due to the perishable nature of fruits and vegetables. Various variables, including management, treatment, and insufficient utilization, contribute to the development of trash. Although FV waste is considered unfit for ingestion, it has significant potential for bioactive compounds (BC) that may be used in nutraceuticals and medicines. This review highlights the environmental impact and potential of circular economy generation of FV waste for various applications. The bibliographic keyword analysis of literature is done by showing the trends of keywords, terms used, and the citation chain which helps in the efficient search of literature. Examination of prevalent extraction techniques for bioactive compounds from fruit and vegetable waste underscores the pivotal role of microwave, ultrasonic, supercritical fluid, and enzyme-assisted methodologies, illuminating their respective strengths and limitations. The industrial and forecast potential of bioactive compounds like polyphenols, pectin, and carotenoids, their multifaceted applications in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and healthcare, and promising significant advancements in functional ingredients and therapeutic formulations are discussed. The necessity of reutilization of FV waste is also reported as transforming and upcycling BC for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical importance. Such innovation will simultaneously aid in the sustainable utilization of FV compounds and the generation of a circular economy which leads to achieving SDG. Notably, the review also reflects a deeper understanding and comprehensive need for future demand and commercialization of BC based on the current acceptance of naturally derived compounds which serve the purpose well of SDG and circular economy.