EVALUATION OF THE SAFETY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF APPLE POMACE AND DEVELOPMENT INTO FOOD PRODUCTS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: NEW
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1017641
• Project No.: WVA00718
• Project Start Date: Oct 5, 2018
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2023

Project Director
Tou, JA.

Recipient Organization
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
886 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD RM 202
MORGANTOWN,WV 26505-2742

Performing Department
Animal & Veterinary Science

Non Technical Summary
Apples are the world's most abundant fruit crop with the United States (US) being the 2nd leading country for worldwide apple production. According to the 2017 Agricultural Overview conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), apples are ranked among West Virginia (WV) top crops. WV ranked 11th, nationally for apple production. However, processing of apples into products such as: juices, sauces, pie fillings, et generates signi?cant amounts of discarded pulp, peel, and seeds. Waste produced by apple processing is referred to as pomace. Apple pomace constitutes a waste disposal problem and economic burden given that a third of an apple's biomass is discarded. However, apple pomace is a rich source of several nutrients of importance to human health including: dietary fibers, non-digestible starches (e.g. prebiotics), and essential minerals. Further, antioxidant polyphenol content of apple pomace is higher than apple. Current uses for apple pomace include extracting purified polyphenols for use as dietary supplements to reduce disease associated with oxidative stress and pectin to improve gastrointestinal health. However, this technology is time consuming and costly. Few studies have investigated the health benefits of apple pomace consumption rather than isolated/purified compounds. Therefore, the purposed research is to investigate the feasibility of repurposing apple pomace for human consumption by determining its safety, nutritional value, health properties and consumer acceptance of products made with apple pomace.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

80%

Applied

10%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
702	1110	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
702 - Requirements and Function of Nutrients and Other Food Components;

Subject Of Investigation
1110 - Apple;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Keywords

apple

pomace

fatty liver disease

antioxidants

bone

Goals / Objectives
The overall aim of our research is to investigate the feasibility of repurposing apple pomace for human consumption by determining its safety, nutritional value, health properties and consumer acceptance of products made with apple pomace. We hypothesize that apple pomace can be developed into safe, healthy, and tasty snack food for human consumption. To test our hypothesis our specific aims are:Aim 1: To evaluate the safety of the apple pomace for consumptionAim 2: To determine nutritional value and potential health benefits of apple pomace consumption.Aim 3: To develop food products containing apple pomace with high acceptance by consumers

Project Methods
To determine safety and health benefits a rat feeding study will be conducted. Weanling (age 22-29 days) female Sprague-Dawley rats (n=32) will be purchased from an animal vendor. Female ratswill beselected based on their greater susceptibility to hepatic effects with increased carbohydrate consumption. All animal procedures were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee at West Virginia University and will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the National Research Council for the Care of Laboratory Animals. Rats will be randomly assigned (n=8 rats/group) to four dietary groups consisting of: 1) AIN-93G, a standard purified rodent diet, 2) AIN-93G+10% of kcals substituted with freeze-dried powder apple pomace (AIN + AP), 3) Western diet (45% fat, 33% sucrose), or 4) Western+10% of kcals substituted with apple pomace (Western + AP). Food intake will be measured and replaced every other day. At the end of the 8 week study, animals will be euthanized. To determine safety of apple pomace fructose content, major organs will be weighed,serum collected to perform clinical biochemical measurements of function. Liver willstored in 10% formalin forhistologicalevaluation. The remaining liver willbe snap frozen for later analysis of fatty acid composition and analysis of genes regulating lipid metabolism. To determine health benefits due to apple pomace's antioxidant phytochemicals, we will evaluate biochemical and gene markers of antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the liver. To determine health benefits due to apple pomace's mineral content we will performmineral balancestudies and measure bone mineral content and biomechanical strength.Finally, edible apple pomaceproducts for human consumption will be developed and tested for their nutritional content,textural properties, shelf-life, and sensory attributes and acceptance by consumers as a nutritious, healthy, and taste caloric replacement snack.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience are researchers, medical professionals, and individuals diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction, particularly non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and those at risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Changes/Problems:Due to Covid-19 causing ourlaboratory to go into hiberation in Spring of 2020and MS student Ayad being required by the Kuwait govennment to leave the US we were unable to accomplish aim 3 of the product regarding development of apple pomace products for human consumption. Since the laboratory re-started in summer 2020 our apple pomace tested high for microbial load and therefore, can no longer be used for human consumption. We wil be required to obtain a new batch of apple pomce in order to accomplish Aim 3 of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Nov 13 Ayad Alawadi fully funded by the Kuwait Government successfully completed his MS thesis project entitled "Effect of Western Diet and Caloric Substitution with Apple Pomace on Fatty Acid Composition and Gene Expression in the Hypothalamus of Growing Female Sprague-Dawley Rats" publications are in preparation for submission in early 2021. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been presented at local research symposiums and will subsequently published in nutrition journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Further goals are to publish Ayad's thesis completed investigating effect of apple pomace on brain health including oxidative stress, inflammation, and regulation of food intake. The goal is to generate evidence that apple pomace can be a functional food for human consumption while offering an environmental and economical solution for fruit waste generated by the industrial processing of apples

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We performed a preclinical study replacing calories in standard or Western diets with apple pomace to determine the effects on genes regulating hepatic lipid metabolism and on risk of NAFLD. Study 1 was completed in 2018 and the published paper showed that substitution of as Western diet with 10% kcal of apple pomace reduced NAFLD. This was due to the soluble fiber reducing absorption of lipids and reducing substrate available for hepatic triglyceride synthesis. However, the high fructose content of apple pomace may potentially increase risk of kidney injury and inflammation. Study 2 investigated whether apple pomace reduced disease progression of NAFLD to steatohepatitis was completed in 2019 and the published paper showed that substitution of as Western diet with 10% kcal of apple pomace reduced NAFLD progression due to the antioxidant content of apple pomace down-regulating several inflammatory genes. Study 3 investigates NAFLD induced health dysfunction. NAFLD has been suggested to be linked withbrainstructure and function, at least partly, through shared risk factors including diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity, which are established risk factors for dementiaas well as forbrainaging. Since apple pomace attenuated NAFLD we hypothesis it will act similarly in the brain. To investigate this we conducted an exploratory study using RNA sequencing technology. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Study was completed by Chris Skinner in fulfilment of his doctoral thesis. He is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Ozarks, AK. Additional goals in Study 2 were included for Kathryn Taylor, BS Biochemistry honor's thesis and included for Garima Agarwi and Minhal Naveed's BS Biochemistry honor's thesis. For Study 3 M.S.student, Ayad Alawadi's thesisinvestigated the effect of apple pomace on the brain health.

Publications

Progress 10/05/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience are researchers, medical professionals, and individuals diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction, particularly non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Study was completed by Chris Skinner in fulfilment of his doctoral thesis. He is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Ozarks, AK. Additional goals in Study 2 were included for Kathryn Taylor, BS Biochemistry honor's thesis. Further, some goals in Study 3 were included for Garima Agarwi and Minhal Naveed's BS Biochemistry honor's thesis. M.S.student, Ayad Alawadi's thesiswill expandthe result in Study 3 byinvestigating effect of apple pomace on the brain health and Study 4 goal of developing nutritious and appetizing apple pomace food product to promote consumer consumption. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been presented at local research symposiums, national, and international conferences and have been subsequently published in nutrition journals as original research. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Further goals are to investigating effect of apple pomace on brain health including oxidative stress, inflammation, and regulation of food intake. The goal is to generate evidence that apple pomace can be a functional food for human consumption while offering an environmental and economical solution for fruit waste generated by the industrial processing of apples. Joining this project as collaborators to accomplish these goals is Dr. Joseph Gigliotti Department of Physiology, Liberty University, VA.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We performed a preclinical study replacing calories in standard or Western diets with apple pomace to determine the effects on genes regulating hepatic lipid metabolism and on risk of NAFLD. Study 1 was completed in 2018 and a paper published in 2018 showed that substitution of as Western diet with 10% kcal of apple pomace reduced NAFLD. This was due to the soluble fiber reducing absorption of lipids and reducing substrate available for hepatic triglyceride synthesis. However, the high fructose content of apple pomace may potentially increase risk of kidney injury and inflammation. Study 2 a safety study performed using a rat model showed no negative impact on renal and bone health. In Study 3 we investigated whether apple pomace reduced disease progression of NAFLD to steatohepatitis. Results showed that substitution of as Western diet with 10% kcal of apple pomace reduced NAFLD progression due to the antioxidant content of apple pomace down-regulating several inflammatory genes. The abundance of apple pomace, currently a food processing waste by-product, has the potential to be re-purposed into a sustainable food product with beneficial health properties.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Skinner RC, Warren DC, Naveed M, Agarwal G, Benedito, VA, Tou, JC. Apple pomace improves liver and adipose inflammatory and antioxidant status in young female rats consuming a Western diet. J Function Foods 61:103471
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Skinner RC, Warren DC, Lateef SN, Benedito VA, Tou JC. Caloric substitution of diets with apple pomace was determined to be safe for renal and bone health using a growing rat model. Eur J Nutr Food Safety 9(3)248-259.