Recent Advances in Extraction and Biological Activities of Bioactive Compounds from Lotus Wastes

Lotus seedpod, lotus seed coat, lotus seed epicarp, and lotus plumule, which are common lotus wastes produced in the food processing industry, are often directly discarded or underutilized, resulting in the obvious waste of lotus resources. Since lotus wastes contain multiple bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, alkaloids, and polysaccharides that can promote human health, the development and utilization of bioactive compounds from lotus wastes has attracted increasing attention. At present, both conventional and modern extraction methods have been widely used in the extraction of bioactive compounds from lotus wastes. Meanwhile, some new extraction methods have also been used to extract bioactive compounds from lotus wastes to increase the extraction rate and have shown significant effects. Polyphenols, alkaloids, and polysaccharides in lotus wastes exhibit bioactivities in many fields, especially in anti-glycation, anti-proliferative, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory. However, most bioactive studies are still in-vitro stage, which need to be further explored by in-vivo experiments in the future. This paper reviews the recent advances in extraction methods and biological activities of the main chemical compounds in lotus waste, which is expected to provide a reference for the development and utilization of lotus waste resources.