Drying kinetics of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) using three different methods and their effect on their mechanical properties

Medina‐Torres, Luis; Gallegos‐Infante, José Alberto; González‐Laredo, Rubén Francisco; Rocha‐Guzmán, Nuria Elizabeth

doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2007.07.016

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The main reason for high drying rate in solar dryer was high drying air temperature. Similar, trend was observed in drying of different products (Medina‐Torres, Gallegos‐Infante, Gonzalez‐Laredo, & Rocha‐Guzman, ). Drying rate was observed to relatively high at higher moisture content (Figure ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Performance comparison of mixed mode and indirect mode parallel flow forced convection solar driers for drying Curcuma zedoaria

Lakshmi

Muthukumar

Ekka

et al. 2019

J Food Process Engineering

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This study focuses on energy and drying kinetic analyses of Curcuma zedoaria (white turmeric) dried in mixed and indirect active parallel flow solar dryers. Dryer efficiency, specific energy consumption and drying rate are studied. The overall dryer efficiency of mixed mode (MFSCD) is 26.5% higher than indirect mode (IFSCD) solar dryer. Two term model and Verma model fit best for Curcuma zedoaria drying in MFSCD and IFSCD, respectively, and Logarithmic model is quite suitable for open sun drying (OSD). The effective moisture diffusivity of the product dried under MFSCD is highest as compared to IFSCD and OSD products. The quality analyses show that higher values of TFC (78.11 mg GAE/g of sample) and DPPH (120.56 μ mol of TE/g of sample) are reported in the samples dried in MFSCD as compared to IFSCD and OSD samples. Practical applications Conventional open sun drying is a common practice followed by small farmers for drying herbs and spices. Products dried under open sun lose their nutritional and medicinal values due to slow drying rate and improper heating. The present work focusses on the development of a low cost solar dryer for drying of high value medicinal herbs like Curcuma zedoaria, curcuma caesia, and black cardamom. Study of drying kinetics helps in improving the design aspects of solar dryer and optimization of the drying systems. Drying time of the Curcuma zedoaria dried in the developed dryer is about 60% less than the open sun drying and the retention of color, antioxidant, and texture of the solar dried products is excellent. The developed solar dryer will be suitable for small small‐scale farmers and can be scaled up to any size.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Performance comparison of mixed mode and indirect mode parallel flow forced convection solar driers for drying Curcuma zedoaria

Lakshmi

Muthukumar

Ekka

et al. 2019

J Food Process Engineering

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“…Regard to aw, a significant decrease was observed in the samples treated with the F2 OD conditions. Other authors reported similar results on the effect of the OD conditions on the physicochemical parameters of fruits and vegetables (Derossi et al, ; Mauro et al, ; Medina‐Torres, Gallego‐Infante, Gonzalez‐Laredo, & Rocha‐Guzman, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Combined drying of Nopal pads ( Opuntia ficus‐indica ): Optimization of osmotic dehydration as a pretreatment before hot air drying

Rodríguez

Sancho

Barrio

et al. 2019

J Food Process Preserv

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The aim of this work was to optimize the osmotic dehydration (OD) as a pretreatment before hot air drying (HAD) in Nopal pads. A Box–Behnken experimental design was used to optimize the OD conditions with respect to physicochemical and chromatic parameters, and mechanical properties of Nopal pads. Factors studied were: Three concentrations of sucrose (30, 40, and 50°Brix), calcium lactate (1, 2, and3%), and immersion time (1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 hr). Results showed that sucrose concentration and immersion time were the variables with higher influence. Quality properties mentioned before and the final mineral content of the dried samples (at 60°C for 48 hr) were analyzed. The combined drying (OD + HAD) reduced the moisture content in the range of 23% to 30% compared to HAD alone. It was found that the optimization of OD allowed preserving the quality properties, being a good alternative to give an added value for dried Nopal pads. Practical applications Nopal has important bioactive properties for both humans and animal diets, since it is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and fibers. However, the main problem of its production is that post harvesting waste is greater than 50%. For this reason, there is a great interest to study inexpensive preservation methods that allow keeping the main attributes of processed fruits. The osmotic dehydration (OD) and the hot air drying (HAD) are two simple and inexpensive techniques which can be applied by both the food industry and small‐scale food producers. In the present study, the optimization of OD as a pretreatment before HAD was a reliable tool to preserve the quality properties of Nopal pads.

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“…The drying method that produced products with the greatest amount of specific bioactive or antioxidant “activity” was assumed to be a “better” method, under the assumption that a higher content indicated potential to preserve the nutritional or bioactive content. The preservation of bioactives were prioritized due to the potential losses related to heat generation during drying (Hung & Duy, ; Medina‐Torres et al, ). Alternatively, heat may also illicit a greater content, as observed by Kamiloglu and Capanoglu () due to the breaking down of more complex compounds or increasing availability through disruption of cellular structures and may explain some observations were contents were lower in fruits processed by dehydrator drying 55°C, rather than 35°C and 75°C.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dehydrator drying 35°C, 55°C, and 75°C) and more importantly the length of this exposure (i.e., 10–12 hr). Effectively, this may lead to reduction or chemical denaturation of the heat‐sensitive compounds (Medina‐Torres et al, ). This may have occurred directly through the heating mechanisms of various drying methods, or alternatively, though heat entrapped within the fruits components such as the sugars (Hung & Duy, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of different drying techniques on phytochemical content and in vitro antioxidant properties of Australian‐grown prickly pears ( Opuntia ficus indica )

Gouws

D’Cunha

Georgousopoulou

et al. 2019

J Food Process Preserv

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Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus indica) is commonly consumed but limited by short harvesting seasons and shelf life. Drying may resolve such issues. The effects of different methods were examined to investigate the phytochemicals in Australian prickly pear (PP). White, orange and purple fruits were dried using freeze‐drying, microwave, draft‐oven, and dehydrator‐drying (35°C, 55°C, and 75°C). Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonol Content (TFC), Total Betalain Content (TBC), Betacyanin (BE), and Betaxanthin (IE) and antioxidant characteristics (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl [DPPH], Cupric Ion Antioxidant Reducing Capacity [CUPRAC], and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power [FRAP]) were determined as methanolic extracts (skin/flesh). The highest content is as follows: TPC (149 ± 5.06 µgGAE; microwave; purple skin), TFC (76.6 ± 1.98 µgCE; microwave; purple‐skin), TBC (4.17 ± 0.846 mg/100 g; freeze‐dried; orange‐skin and flesh), BE (2.29 ± 1.00 mgBE/100 g; freeze‐dried; purple‐flesh), IE (3.42 ± 0.569 mgIE/100 g; freeze‐dried; purple‐flesh); DPPH (224 ± 41.2 µMTE; freeze‐dried; white‐flesh), CUPRAC (2,937 ± 43.3 µMTE; microwave; purple‐skin) and FRAP (1,377 ± 27.0 µMTE; microwave; purple‐skin). Significant differences (p < 0.05) occurred between drying methods. When compared to freeze drying, microwaving, in some cases elicited the highest content. Practical applications The gap between the nutrient‐dense prickly pear fruit, and its consumption is prominent, particularly in Australia. This is potentially the consequences of social misconceptions, a short harvesting season and shelf life, thus potentially contributing to Australia's growing food waste challenge. Therefore, such obstacles could be reduced with the use of the most appropriate drying technique in order to extend the products shelf life. Our manuscript investigates the effect of different drying techniques on the phytochemical content of the prickly pear fruit. The investigated drying methods were considered accessible to small agricultural producers, the predominant farmers for this fruit in Australia. The findings of this paper can be potentially implemented in agricultural practice, assisting with year‐round food supply and reduce on‐site foods waste.

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Drying kinetics of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) using three different methods and their effect on their mechanical properties

Cited by 22 publications

References 11 publications

Performance comparison of mixed mode and indirect mode parallel flow forced convection solar driers for drying Curcuma zedoaria

Performance comparison of mixed mode and indirect mode parallel flow forced convection solar driers for drying Curcuma zedoaria

Combined drying of Nopal pads ( Opuntia ficus‐indica ): Optimization of osmotic dehydration as a pretreatment before hot air drying

The effect of different drying techniques on phytochemical content and in vitro antioxidant properties of Australian‐grown prickly pears ( Opuntia ficus indica )

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