## 4 Discussion  
With the aim to recover actives for cosmetic applications, our research group has been focusing in recent years on selection of different food waste materials, which have been processed, characterized, and studied in terms of chemical composition and efficacy, to create innovative and sustainable ingredients in respect of circular and local economy. The projects on beeswax by-product and saffron petals are briefly summarized here: Beeswax by-product (BBR) is a waste derived from honey production and is composed by honey, resins, and other constituents. Our analysis revealed the presence of carbohydrates, hydrocarbons, and minerals, as well as a polyphenic composition similar to propolis and significant antibacterial activity towards Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Enterococcus faecalis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [29]. Saffron petals are considered a waste of saffron (_Crocus sativus_ L.) cultivation. From this material, an innovative and green extraction technique was performed, employing mixtures of polyols, lactic acid, and betaine as solvents, to develop saffron petal extracts enriched in active compounds such as quercetin and kaempfer derivatives, with demonstrated anti-tyrosine activity for cosmetic applications [30]. Besides food waste for the cosmetic sector \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Indicator** & **Unit** & **Value** \\ \hline Global Warming Potential 100a & mPt & 1.13 \\ \hline Ozone depletion & mPt & \(1.27\times 10^{-1}\) \\ \hline Ionizing radiation & mPt & \(7.74\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Photochemical ozone formation & mPt & \(1.17\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Particulate matter & mPt & \(2.32\times 10^{-1}\) \\ \hline Human toxicity, non-cancer & mPt & \(4.99\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Human toxicity, cancer & mPt & \(1.74\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Acidification & mPt & \(1.16\times 10^{-1}\) \\ \hline Eutrophication, freshwater & mPt & \(1.09\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Eutrophication, marine & mPt & \(4.47\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Eutrophication, terrestrial & mPt & \(2.88\times 10^{-3}\) \\ \hline Ecotoxicity, freshwater & mPt & \(2.30\times 10^{-1}\) \\ \hline Land use & mPt & \(5.12\times 10^{-5}\) \\ \hline Water use & mPt & \(1.11\times 10^{-1}\) \\ \hline Resource use, fossils & mPt & \(4.05\times 10^{-2}\) \\ \hline Resource use, minerals and metals & mPt & \(4.99\times 10^{-4}\) \\ \hline mPt: milliPoint. & & \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: LCA analysis of \(\text{WSWCO}_{2}\) extract, considering conversion to mPt value, according to Annex B.1 of the “Product Environmental Footprint Category 2 Rules (PEFCR) Guidance v6.3. in particular, our research group has also been working on green extraction approaches to many other food and bio-waste materials, such as larch [31] and picea bark [32]. In the current research, a concept was further developed compared to previous studies: the aim in this case was not only to valorize a food waste but also to establish an integrated pathway comprising different steps (material selection, green extraction, chemical characterization, biological activity, and environmental impact calculation) for the development of an up-cycled active cosmetic ingredient and propose it as innovative model of study for the cosmetic sector, to be virtually applied also to many other wastes and to combine quality and efficacy in view of sustainability. In this pilot study, the strawberry waste was selected as a starting material for this purpose. Considering that strawberry waste is mostly composed of seeds, a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids [33], supercritical CO2 was chosen as lipophilic green extraction technique to obtain a wild strawberry waste (WSWSCO2) extract in a liquid oily form. The WSWSCO2 extract developed in this study was investigated, considering the fatty acids composition, its ability to inhibit the activity of 5\(\alpha\)-reductase enzyme, and the environmental impact of its production.