Fruits and vegetables are the most utilized commodities among all horticultural crops. They are consumed raw, minimally processed, as well as processed, due to their nutrients and health‐promoting compounds. With the growing population and changing diet habits, the production and processing of horticultural crops, especially fruits and vegetables, have increased very significantly to fulfill the increasing demands. Significant losses and waste in the fresh and processing industries are becoming a serious nutritional, economical, and environmental problem. For example, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that losses and waste in fruits and vegetables are the highest among all types of foods, and may reach up to 60%. The processing operations of fruits and vegetables produce significant wastes of by‐products, which constitute about 25% to 30% of a whole commodity group. The waste is composed mainly of seed, skin, rind, and pomace, containing good sources of potentially valuable bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids, polyphenols, dietary fibers, vitamins, enzymes, and oils, among others. These phytochemicals can be utilized in different industries including the food industry, for the development of functional or enriched foods, the health industry for medicines and pharmaceuticals, and the textile industry, among others. The use of waste for the production of various crucial bioactive components is an important step toward sustainable development. This review describes the types and nature of the waste that originates from fruits and vegetables, the bioactive components in the waste, their extraction techniques, and the potential utilization of the obtained bioactive compounds.

Bioactive compounds possess different health benefits. Onion contains various bioactive compounds, such as organosulfur compounds, flavonols, ascorbic acids, and carbohydrate prebiotics, and its by‐products have more content of flavonoids than the bulb. Diallyl monosulfide, diallyl disulfide, diallyl trisulfide, and diallyl tetrasulfide are the major organosulfur compounds, whereas quercetin, kaempferol, anthocyanin, and luteolin are considered as main flavonoids. Ascorbic acid and fructooligosaccharides are also regarded as bioactive compounds. Onion bioactive compounds have the strong antioxidant potential for neutralizing oxidative stress of the cells. These bioactive components are beneficial as anticarcinogenic, antibiotic, anti‐inflammatory, antiplatelet, antidiabetic, and cardioprotective agents along with other nutritional benefits. However, various postharvest practices have an impact on these bioactive compounds, for example, curing mostly enhances the bioactive level and processing temperature generally decreases the concentration of many of them, whereas storage studies suggest an increase of others under optimized conditions. Additionally, conventional extraction techniques showed a negative impact on bioactive compounds of onion, whereas innovative methods yielded a higher amount of bioactive components. There is a need for innovative and integrated procedures in the postharvest sector to maintain or enhance the level of bioactive compounds without compromising the quality of onions. The present review comprehensively describes different bioactive compounds of onion, their chemistry, and their pharmacotherapeutic roles. Moreover, it also explores the effects of various postharvest factors, such as temperature, storage duration, and extraction conditions on the level of the bioactive components. It also suggests industrial applications of onion waste and its bioactive compounds in the food sector.