GHI Webinar - Innovative Strategies for Preserving Bioactive Compounds
Date: 29th October 2025, Time: 1pm CEST
Duration: 1.5 hours
Abstract:
This webinar explores the bioactive potential of Randia spp., a plant from the Rubiaceae family known for its health benefits due to its rich content of phenolic compounds. Traditionally used in Mexico for medicinal purposes, Randia spp. offers promising applications in pharmaceuticals and food science. However, further research is necessary to characterize its bioactive compounds and assess its safety for consumers. Additionally, the session will introduce Refractive Window (RW™) drying, an innovative technology designed to preserve the nutritional and functional properties of food while extending shelf life. Unlike conventional drying methods, RW™ drying offers energy efficiency, reduced processing time, and superior retention of bioactive compounds.
The purpose of this webinar is to highlight the potential of Randia spp. as a natural health-promoting ingredient and demonstrate how RW™ drying can enhance the preservation of sensitive bioactive compounds. By integrating scientific research with advanced food processing techniques, this discussion aims to provide valuable insights for researchers, food industry professionals, and health enthusiasts interested in sustainable and effective food preservation solutions.
Randia spp: A promising natural alternative with bioactive properties
Dr. Cecilia Eugenia Martínez-Sánchez. Profesor-Investigador. GHI Co Ambassador. Tecnológico Nacional de México Campus Tuxtepec
Abstract:
Mexico boasts a vast natural heritage and ranks fifth worldwide in plant diversity, with an estimated 180,000 to 216,000 vascular plant species, according to SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, by its acronym in Spanish). This biodiversity has led to the widespread traditional use of plants among the Mexican population, either for medicinal purposes or through commercial and cultural exchange, as adjuvants in disease prevention and symptom relief. Among these plants, growing interest has emerged in Randia spp., commonly known as "crucetillo," from the Rubiaceae family. The fruit of this plant has been attributed with various health benefits due to its high content of phenolic compounds, including hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, vanillin, gallic acid, quercetin, scopolamine, and chlorogenic acid, all known for their biological activity. Given its rich phytochemical profile, Randia spp.represents a promising natural alternative to pharmaceutical treatments. However, further studies are essential to characterize these bioactive compounds and assess the fruit’s cytotoxicity, ensuring its safety and efficacy for consumers. This research focuses on analyzing the secondary metabolites of a Randia spp. species native to the Tuxtepec region, Oaxaca, Mexico. The findings could establish potential applications in various fields, including pharmaceuticals and food science, offering valuable insights into the plant’s therapeutic potential and safe consumption.
Food drying using refractive window technology: alternative to retain bioactive compounds in foods
Dr. Erasmo Herman y Lara. Profesor-Investigador. GHI Co Ambassador. Tecnológico Nacional de México Campus Tuxtepec
Abstract:
With increasing global demand for non-perishable foods, extending shelf life is essential, particularly for products requiring long-distance transportation. Drying methods play a crucial role in reducing water content and preserving food. However, traditional drying processes often involve excessive heat, sugar and salt aggregation, electromagnetic radiation, and phase changes that can negatively impact the chemical, physical, and nutritional properties of food.
Refractive Window (RW™) drying emerges as an innovative solution. Originally developed for drying suspensions, sauces, and purées, RW™ technology has proven to be highly versatile. This process combines conductive thermal energy and infrared radiation, utilizing a Mylar film over a hot water surface (below 100°C). Studies have shown that RW™ drying produces powders with moisture content comparable to freeze-drying but with several key advantages: lower cost, higher energy efficiency, reduced processing complexity, shorter drying times, and increased production capacity. Moreover, RW™ technology helps retain nutrients, functional properties, sensory attributes, and bioactive compounds more effectively than conventional drying methods. This makes it particularly suitable for heat-sensitive foods, enzymes, and pharmaceutical products. Given its efficiency and ability to preserve food quality, RW™ drying presents a promising alternative for food processing industries seeking sustainable and cost-effective solutions.
Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) innovates extraction and preservation of bioactivity of functional natural compounds in the valorization of agro-industrial residues
Dr. Juliana Morales-Castro Lead Researcher of the Sustainable Valorization of Agroindustrial Residues Research Group, based in the Food Product Development Laboratory in the Research, Graduate and Technologic Development Unit (UPIDET) at the Technological Institute of Durango (TECNM) in Mexico.
Abstract:
Incorporating circular economy principles into food systems require the valorization of food by-products and co-products to maximize their value by recovering valuable compounds still present in these residues and thereby reducing food waste. Food by-products are rich in bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols, phytosterols, carotenoids, tocopherols, alkaloids, saponins, among others, that contribute to human health by regulating and modulating metabolic processes. These compounds also exert protective effects against several chronic diseases, acting as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer agents, among others. Consequently, they hold great potential for a broad spectrum of applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries. In pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, these metabolites can induce or inhibit genetic expression and modulate the activity of enzymes and receptors, while in the food industry they are used as dietary supplements and as natural additives to improve sensory food attributes such as colour enhancement in the particular case of carotenoids, anthocyanins and curcuminoids, among others.
However, recovering of these bioactive compounds presents important challenges due to the heterogeneity of the matrix, their intracellular location, and limitations of conventional extraction techniques, which often suffer from low efficiency, thermal degradation, and reliance on hazardous procedures such as the use of inorganic solvents. In this context, natural deep eutectic solvents, (NADES), have emerged as promising green alternatives for the extraction of bioactive compounds due to their natural origin, low toxicity, high biodegradability, and during synthesis, their properties such as viscosity, polarity, thermal stability, electrical conductivity can be tuned for specific extraction process or applications. Recent studies have reported highly positive and encouraging results, demonstrating that NADES not only improve extraction efficiency of bioactive components but also preserve and even enhance their bioactivity compared to traditional solvents. This represents a rapidly expanding research field, with significant potential to optimize both extraction yields and the stability of recovered bioactives within the framework of sustainable food system innovation.
Speaker 1:
Dr. Cecilia Eugenia Martínez Sánchez
Her work has resulted in 53 publications in indexed journals and the Nacional Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONAHCYT) index. She is a registered evaluator in the CONAHCYT Registry of Accredited Evaluators (RCEA) and has been Co-ambassador of Mexico for the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) since 2019. Currently, she heads the Food Science Laboratory in the Postgraduate Program. Committed to research and innovation, she strives to contribute to scientific advancement and sustainable development while upholding core values such as family, cooperation, and lifelong learning.
Speaker 2:
Dr. Erasmo herman y Lara
Speaker 3:
Dr. Juliana Morales-Castro
Chair & Event Moderator:
Dr. Diana Bogueva
