Climate-resilient and underutilized crops for pharmaceutical excipients, bioactives and bio-based packaging: a circular bioeconomy review

The pharmaceutical industry faces increasing supply-chain vulnerabilities driven by climate change, geopolitical disruptions, and the concentration of raw material production. This review evaluates underutilized climate-resilient crops as sustainable sources for pharmaceutical excipients, bioactive compounds, and bio-based packaging materials within a circular bioeconomy framework. A structured literature review was conducted using major scientific, regulatory, and patent databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and pharmacopeial sources), covering publications from 2015 to 2026. Studies were screened for relevance to excipient functionality, bioactive profiles, material performance, regulatory considerations, and circular valorisation potential. The findings show that underutilized crops provide abundant starches, fibres, mucilages, and lignocellulosic residues capable of delivering excipient performance comparable to pharmacopeial standards when appropriately processed. Climate-resilient species such as cassava, millets, sorghum, banana pseudostem, seaweed, and agave also yield bioactive compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, while agricultural residues demonstrate lower greenhouse-gas emissions and fossil-energy demand than conventional petroleum-based packaging materials. Regional synthesis indicates strong biomass availability in Africa and South America, diverse cropping systems and near-commercial innovations in Asia, and comparatively advanced regulatory frameworks and scale-up capacity in Europe and North America. Overall, underutilized climate-resilient crops offer credible pathways to strengthen pharmaceutical supply security, reduce petrochemical dependence, and support circular bioeconomy development. However, large-scale adoption remains constrained by variability in raw materials, limited processing infrastructure in producing regions, and the need for harmonized regulatory standards and consistent quality specifications. Addressing these gaps will be critical for translating crop-based pharmaceutical and packaging solutions from pilot studies to industrial practice. Graphical Abstract