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November 2020 / 17 ria, depending on the powder. The findings indicate that the powders from persimmons and blueberries could be included in food for- mulations to boost the content of anthocyanins and carotenoids. The research "Valorisation of Persimmon and Blueberry By- Products to Obtain Functional Powders: in vitro Digestion and Fermentation by Gut Microbiota" was published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The research authors acknowl- edge funding from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region (FISABIO). wanted to understand the effects that the digested powders would have on gut bacterial growth. The researchers took powder from persimmon peels and flower parts and from blueberry solids left behind after making blue- berry juice. Factors that impacted the release of antioxidants during simulated digestion include pow- der type, drying method, fiber content, and fiber type. For exam- ple, freeze-drying preserved more anthocyanins, but these degraded more easily during digestion than those in air-dried samples. The researchers recreated a mock diges- tion by adding the powders to a fecal slurry, sequencing the bacteria present before and after fermenta- tion. The results showed an increase in several types of beneficial bacte- Process mining revenue gener- ally comes from software licenses, with most vendors offering cloud-based access. The market is currently largest in continen- tal Europe, but North America accounted for the highest growth rate (nearly 200 percent) in 2019. The industries adopting process min- ing the most are manufacturing; banking, financial services, and insurance; and the telecom indus- tries. For more info and to purchase a copy of the report for $4,999, visit www.everestgrp.com. RESEARCH NOTES Antioxidant-rich blueberry, persimmon waste powders could improve gut health Research on transforming fruit and vegetable by-products, including peels or pulp discarded during processing, into nutritious food ingredients and supplements has been done on blueberry and persim- mon waste. The waste product from these two foods can be made into antioxidant-rich powders that might have beneficial effects on gut micro- biota. Fruit and vegetable powders can contain beneficial compounds like antioxidants polyphenol and carotenoid. The powders can be consumed on their own or can be added to other food products. How- ever, the powders derived from the by-products often have similar or even higher levels of the beneficial compounds compared to other parts of the fruit or vegetable. Researchers Noelia Betoret, Maria José Gosalbes, and col- leagues wanted to create powders from blueberry and persimmon wastes and then study how diges- tion could affect the release of antioxidants and other bioactive compounds. In addition, they