In vitro Characterization of Olive Pomace as a Functional Ingredient for Sustainable Feed Systems

The growing need to enhance sustainability and ensure food security in agri-food and livestock systems has driven the valorization of agro-industrial co-products. In the present olive pomace (OP), a co-product of oil production, was analyzed in vitro for its nutritional and functional properties in feed and cellular food production. An in vitro digestion model was used to evaluate the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity of OP. Olive pomace showed an interesting nutritional profile, in particular for lipid content (18.10 ± 0.07 g/100 g), although characterized by a low dry matter digestibility (31.49 ± 1.57 %). In parallel, OP showed a relevant antioxidant capacity over the digestive process. The inclusion of OP in piglet diets at 2.5% and 5% improved functional activity without significantly compromising digestibility values, compared to the control diet. Finally, OP as a functional ingredient in C2C12 muscle cell culture medium, for cellular agriculture application, sustained cell viability at concentrations of 0.015 mg/mL (105.76 ± 5.91% viability), 0.03 mg/mL (101.27 ± 5.28%) and 0.07 mg/mL (102.51 ± 5.95%), although statistically (p <0.05) lower than 10% FBS. The results obtained suggest the potential of OP as a sustainable functional ingredient, yet to be optimised for cellular agriculture.