A successful circular bioeconomy depends on our ability to utilise all side streams from production. That includes the whey juice from the BIO4Africa green biorefineries installed in Uganda and Ghana. Munster Technical University has been investigating the potential to extract high-value ingredients.

Green leaves are a rich source of protein and fibre, extracted by the BIO4Africa biorefineries for livestock feed. But what about the brown whey juice that the two biorefineries also generate?

Munster Technological University (MTU) has been taking a closer look at the juice in its circular bioeconomy research lab. The idea is to find out whether this biorefinery side stream could be of value to the cosmetics and nutraceutical industry.

Dr Aleksandra Augustyniak, who has been conducting the trials, presented the findings at the BIO4Africa final conference in Montpellier in January.

“This is the first time studies of this kind have been carried out. The whey juice is a natural source of antioxidants and other components. So it is of great interest to find out if we can use this high-volume side stream to create high-value ingredients,” she says.

Juice from local feed crops
Kabarole Research & Resource Centre (KRC) provided the whey juice samples for the trials from the biorefinery in Uganda. Obtained from two local feed crops – pakchong napier grass and alfalfa – the samples revealed a significant difference in composition.

Aleksandra explains why this is important.

“Especially the pakchong samples have a high content of polyphenolic compounds, which are well known for their antioxidant properties. The higher the polyphenolic content, the greater the likelihood of health benefits.”

Potential for anti-ageing
In skin health, antioxidants are widely used in anti-ageing products to help maintain skin strength and elasticity and protect against hyperpigmentation. The initial composition study found both the pakchong and alfalfa samples contain relevant compounds for anti-ageing cosmetics.

Subsequent lab trials with human skin cells revealed promising anti-inflammatory activity and, importantly, confirmed the non-toxicity of the whey.

“All the results we have obtained relate to skin health and, as such, are most relevant to the cosmetics industry. However, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity could have wider benefits for health in general,” Aleksandra says.

Extraction of the individual compounds in whey juice are the next step to investigate the healthcare possibilities more closely. MTU will continue this work beyond the BIO4Africa project.

A final report on the whey juice studies at MTU will be published in May. SavaNet-Ghana is also running trials with whey juice in piglet feed.

Read more about the green biorefinery on our news page. Our first article on the biorefinery in Uganda is a good place to start. Find it here.