Enzymatic Valorization of Sour Cherry Pomace as Multifunctional Biopolymer Matrix for Active and Intelligent Food Packaging

The increasing generation of food processing by-products has created a need for sustainable strategies for their valorization into high-value materials. The chemical characterization of sour cherry pomace indicates that it is a valuable source of carbohydrates (87.35%) and bioactive and pigment components, containing 21.25 mg GAE/g DW of total phenolics and 1.28 mg Cy3Glu/g DW of total anthocyanins. Therefore, sour cherry pomace was investigated as a single-source raw material for the development of multifunctional biopolymer films with potential applications in active and intelligent food packaging. To modify the polysaccharide matrix and enhance the availability of endogenous phenolic compounds, the pomace was subjected to enzymatic treatment. The treated materials were then processed directly into films without the addition of external phenolic compounds or pigments and compared with films prepared from untreated pomace. The FTIR analysis of the films indicated a higher relative contribution of aromatic components after enzymatic treatment, with the highest antioxidant activities and pH sensitivity observed in the film obtained from pomace treated with enzyme mixture. These findings demonstrate the potential of enzymatically valorized sour cherry pomace as a sustainable and efficient platform for developing intrinsically functional packaging materials, supporting the circular bioeconomy concept, and advancing next-generation food packaging systems.