Due to its nutritional and bioactive content, tomato pomace (TP) remains among the world's richest fruits and vegetables. Tomatoes and TP (generated coproduct) are a very rich source of lycopene and other carotenoid compounds and contain an essential amount of polyphenols, policosanol, phytosterols, organic acids, dietary fibers, minerals, and vitamins. TP is a promising source of significant bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Therefore, their consumption is known to be effective in preventing certain chronic diseases. For example, lycopene prevents prostate cancer and acts as a hepatoprotector and genoprotector against mycotoxins, pesticide residues, and heavy metals. Thus, the valorization of TP as a food ingredient can be of great health, economic and environmental interest and contribute to improving nutrition and food security. During the last decades, considerable efforts have been made to valorize TP as a crucial functional ingredient in improving: (i) the nutritional and functional properties, (ii) sensory characteristics and (iii) the shelf life of many foods. The current review aims to update and summarize the knowledge on the recent food applications of TP, particularly its use as a functional ingredient to improve the functional properties and shelf life of foods.

Onions (Allium cepa L.) are the second most commonly produced and consumed vegetable worldwide due to their economic, nutritional, and medicinal benefits. However, drought hinders vegetative growth, lowers yields and bulb quality, reduces photosynthetic activity, and alters the onion plants metabolism. This review provides a summary of global research on the impact of drought on onions. It specifically seeks to shed light on aspects that remain unclear and generate research avenues. Relevant scientific articles were sourced from the AGORA database, Web of Science (WoS), and search engines such as Google Scholar, Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, and SCImago to achieve this objective. A total of 117 scientific articles and documents related to onion and drought were critically examined. The review revealed agromorphological, physiological, biochemical, and genomic studies depicting factors that contribute to drought tolerance in onion genotypes. However, there was little research on the physiological, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of drought tolerance in onions, which need to be deepened to establish its adaptation mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms of onion response to water stress will contribute to fast-tracking the development of drought-tolerant genotypes and optimize onion production. Future research should be more focused on investigating onion drought tolerance mechanisms and structural and functional genomics and identifying genes responsible for onion drought tolerance.

The current growing attractiveness of natural dyes around the world is a consequence of the increasing rejection of synthetic dyes whose use is increasingly criticized. The great interest in natural pigments from herbal origin such as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) is due to their biological properties and their health benefits. However, the chemical instability of C3G during processing and storage and its low bioavailability limits its food application. Nanoencapsulation technology using appropriate nanocarriers is revolutionizing the use of anthocyanin, including C3G. Owing to the chemical stability and functional benefits that this new nanotechnology provides to the latter, its industrial application is now extending to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. This review focuses on the various nanoencapsulation techniques used and the chemical and biological benefits induced to C3G.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an important commodity in West Africa. Its seeds are a valuable source of protein, vitamins, and income for humans. However, cowpea cultivation in Benin faces climatic constraints such as water stress caused by a prolonged absence of rain during the rainy season. Thus, this work aims at selecting cowpea varieties that can be cultivated in times of drought without compromising their yields and yield components. Twenty cowpea varieties were used, including 17 improved cultivars and 3 landraces. The experiment was conducted at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Benin and laid at a split-plot design with four replicates. Each genotype was exposed to three water treatments: fully irrigated control, vegetative stress (when plants were 23 days old, drought stress was imposed for 30 days), and reproductive stress (once the first flowers were observed, water stress was imposed for 30 days). The results showed that photochemical yield, chlorophyll content, and relative water content were reduced under water deficit at the vegetative and reproductive stages. But there were no significant differences in proline content among cowpea varieties. Agronomic traits such as number of days to flowering, number of pods, yield per plant, the weight of 100 seeds, and harvest time showed significant differences under water stress. Overall, the landraces and cultivars including Kpodjiguegue, KVX 61-1, and IT 06-K-242-3 were the most tolerant to drought stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages and could potentially be used in breeding programs to improve drought tolerance of cowpeas.

A wide range of traditional fermented foods is produced and prized in communities in developing countries. Due to the generation of beneficial microorganisms, nutritional and bioactive compounds such as organic acids, antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, high bioavailable proteins, peptides, mannans, β-glucans and amino-acids, fermentation has been considered one of most vital food processing techniques to improve product shelf life, quality, and safety. The presented overview of scientific research emphasizes the microflora potential and multifold advantageous effects of the fermented foods traditionally produced in the Benin Republic. Several innovative scientific investigations on fermentation and fermented products, together with indigenous knowledge and professional experience, have been explored and discussed. The characterization of microbiological aspects of these foods revealed that they present economic, nutritional, and health advantages with essential prebiotics and probiotics for the indigenous communities. Furthermore, traditional fermented foods have high safety and quality. However, the industrial way is suggested to limit the eventual adverse contaminations.

Agrifood wastes derived from fruits and vegetables are a major source of valuable bioactive compounds. They are therefore a potential functional ingredient that can be used for improving the physicochemical, and sensory, properties; health benefits; and shelf life of food. This study was aimed at evaluating the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of tomato seed (Solanum lycopersicum) meal derived from agrifood waste to be used as a functional ingredient for food preservation. To this end, proximate composition, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial ability, and functional properties were evaluated using relevant methods. The seeds are the most nutrient‐rich part of the tomato. They contain major macronutrients such as proteins (29.97%, dw), lipids (28.32%, dw), carbohydrates (17.19%, dw), and dietary fibers (20.93%, dw). They are rich in minerals (3.57%, dw), and bioactive molecules include total phenolic (4.8 mg/100 g) and carotenoids (with 43.65 μg/g for lycopene and 23.62 μg/g for β‐carotene). Owing to their content of biomolecules, tomato seed meal extracts inhibited the growth of certain food‐borne pathogens and food spoilage microorganisms with inhibition diameters of up to 25 cm. Methanolic extracts of these meals showed significant antioxidant activity (25.03% inhibition percentage of diphenyl‐picryl‐hydrazyl). Our findings highlight the importance of making better valorization of tomato seeds. Tomato seed meal has interesting potential as a functional ingredient, capable of improving the physicochemical properties, enriching the nutritional quality, and extending the shelf life of foods.