In Spain, researchers are taking apple pomace leftover from juice production that used to be thrown away, and making good use of it as biomaterial for regenerating bone and cartilage tissues for patients with degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, arthritis or osteoarthritis. The good news is there is plenty of apple pomace since apple production worldwide was more than 70 million tons in 2015. Apple pomace is usually used for compost or animal feed, but since there is so much of it and it goes bad quickly, it’s often thrown away. As a waste, the cost is much lower than similar biomaterials used for 3D printing and medical applications.
That’s using the antioxidants, carbohydrates, and pectin from the apple pumace as a base for various medical applications like bone and cartilage regeneration is great news for patients as well as the environment. Milagro Ramos, a researcher of the study, told Drug Target Review, “With this approach we achieve a double goal, firstly using waste as a renewable raw material of high value and chemical diversity, and secondly, to reduce the impact of such waste accumulation on the environment”.