No abstract

Bitter melon ( Momordica charantia L.) is a fruit that brings health benefits to consumers because the fruit is rich in bioactive compounds. In this work, a combination of low‐temperature convective drying and microwave radiation was used to dehydrate sliced bitter melon. One‐factor‐at‐a‐time design was performed to evaluate the influence of microwave power density (1.5, 3.0, 4.5 W/g), drying temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C), and air velocity (1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 m/s) on the change of moisture content, nutrient levels (vitamin C and total phenolics), and the antioxidant activities (DPPH and FRAP assays) of the bitter melon. The obtained results showed that all investigated factors affected the rate of moisture removal. Microwave power density output and air‐drying temperature strongly participated in the retention of nutrients. In this study, the drying process was driven by both heat and mass transfer processes, so the increase of air velocity prolonged the drying time causing more loss of nutrient levels and antioxidant activities. It was found that DPPH free radical scavenging ability directly correlated with total phenolic content, but the ferric‐reducing antioxidant power was related to the presence of reductants including phenolic compounds, vitamin C, and other phytochemicals in bitter melons. This work determined that microwave power density and the air‐drying temperature are the main two factors that should be used for further investigations.

The changes in nutrient (phenolics and vitamin C) and color of bitter melon slices, during microwave‐assisted drying (MWAD) at different microwave power values (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 W/g) and air temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C) are reported. Fits of the experimental data to a semi‐empirical mathematical model were used to determine the half‐lives of the nutrients. Color change during drying was similarly characterized using CIELAB color space parameters. The rates of nutrient degradation and color change increased with an increase in microwave power, and drying temperature, but the drying times decreased significantly. The total electrical energy consumed under various drying conditions was measured. Although a microwave power of 1.5 W/g and an air temperature of 25°C resulted in the highest levels of nutrient retention, the drying time and process energy consumption were relatively high. In comparison, the drying conditions of 4.5 W/g and 30°C provided an acceptable compromise. Practical applications Low‐temperature MWAD is a promising alternative to conventional drying for food that contains temperature‐sensitive nutrients. This article provides a methodology for analyzing the kinetics of nutrient and color change during a MWAD process. A 32 factorial design was used to derive predictive correlations for drying time, nutrient half‐life, time constants characterizing color change, and electrical energy consumed during the drying process. The relative influences of microwave power and drying temperature could be readily discerned using these correlations. The reported study will help in developing and optimizing microwave drying processes for a variety of food products.

In this study, avocado pulp with a good nutritional profile and economic value was dehydrated using infrared drying to produce pulp powder, which shows potential application in nutritional supplements. An experimental design with two factors, namely maltodextrin level (0% and 9%) and infrared temperature (ranging from 65 to 80 °C), was used. Responses related to the physicochemical properties of the resulted powder were observed, including peroxide value, total polyphenols, total chlorophylls, antioxidant activity, and color parameters (L*, a*, and b* values). The quality of dried products may be harmed by drying either at a high temperature or for an extended period of time. The coating substance maltodextrin was found to be beneficial in limiting unexpected changes in avocado pulp subjected to infrared drying. The highest quality of dried avocado could be obtained via infrared drying of avocado pulp with 9% maltodextrin at 70 °C, as illustrated by the exceptional retention of total polyphenols, total chlorophylls, and antioxidant activity, being 95.1, 95.2, and 94.4%, respectively. Moreover, the short drying time (35–55 min) led to the minimization of lipid oxidation and the absence of peroxide compounds in all samples.