Grape Winemaking By-Products: Current Valorization Strategies and Their Value as Source of Tannins with Applications in Food and Feed

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 30; no. 13; p. 2726
• Main Authors: Echave, Javier, Pereira, Antía G., Jorge, Ana O. S., Barciela, Paula, Nogueira-Marques, Rafael, Yuksek, Ezgi N., Oliveira, María B. P. P., Barros, Lillian, Prieto, M. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.06.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Animal Feed - analysis; antioxidant; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - chemistry; Bioflavonoids; By products; Cocoa; Composting; Enzymes; Flavones; Flavonoids; Food; Fruit - chemistry; Fruits; grape waste; Grapes; Microbiota; Polymerization; Polymers; Polyphenols; Review; Seeds; tannins; Tannins - chemistry; valorization; Vitis - chemistry; Vitis vinifera; Wine - analysis; Wine and wine making; Netherlands; Connecticut; grape waste; polyphenols; antioxidant; valorization; tannins; Vitis vinifera
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules30132726

Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most extensively cultivated crops in temperate climates, with its primary fate being wine production, which is paired with a great generation of grape pomace (GP). GP contains a plethora of antioxidant phenolic compounds, being well-known for its high content of various tannins, liable for the astringency of this fruit. Winemaking produces a great mass of by-products that are rich in tannins. Grape seed (GSd) and pulp waste, as well as leaves and stems (GSt), are rich in condensed tannins (CTs), while its skin (GSk) contains more flavonols and phenolic acids. CTs are polymers of flavan-3-ols, and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are well-accounted for, being the subject of extensive research for various applications. CTs from the diverse fractions of grapefruit and grapevine share similar structures given their composition but diverge in their degree of polymerization, which can modulate their chemical interactions and may be present at around 30 to 80 mg/g, depending on the grape fraction. Thus, this prominent agroindustrial by-product, which is usually managed as raw animal feed or further fermented for liquor production, can be valorized as a source of tannins with high added value. The present review addresses current knowledge on tannin diversity in grapefruit and grapevine by-products, assessing the differences in composition, quantity, and degree of polymerization. Current knowledge of their reported bioactivities will be discussed, linking them to their current and potential applications in food and feed.