Effect of fluidized‐bed and freeze‐drying techniques on physicochemical, nutritional, thermal, and structural properties of Moringa oleifera flowers, leaves, and seeds

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) is called a "Miracle Tree" with multiple medicinal and industrial applications. This tree has originated in India and is cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Almost all the parts of this plant are valuable and edible as they high nutritional and medicinal values (Arora et al., 2013). It is the most abundant source of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and phytochemicals such as phenols, ascorbic acid, and flavonoids that are important for its high antioxidant activity (Coz-Bolaños et al., 2018). Nutritional composition, phytochemical profile, and antioxidant activity differ significantly with crop variety, drying conditions, and pre-treatments given before use (Attkan et al., 2014;Cho et al., 2013;Singh et al., 2020). In the current scenario, drying is a common practice to obtain superior quality of dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and leaves. Convectional drying may lead to undesirable effects on the physiochemical, organoleptical, and functional properties of food. Lyophilization or freeze-drying (FD) is a novel technique which is carried out by reducing and maintaining the effective product temperature below 0˚C under reduced pressure (usually around 600-700 Pa) simultaneously so that all the moisture of the product is sublimated from solid state to directly into the vapor state. FD is comparitively better than the other drying methods in retention of active components of produce due to drying at sub-zero temperatures which causes no thermal degradation and resist function of degradative enzymes by reduction of moisture

Mass modeling of strawberry (Fragaria × Ananasa) based on selected physical attributes

“… The projected area of a single fruit is a good indicator of mass. The projected area can be used for designing the grader and also used for accurate modeling of heat and mass transfer analysis during drying and cooling (Manju, Rekha, & Kumar, 2021). The projected areas of strawberries in three perpendicular dimensions viz., PA L , projected area perpendicular to the length (mm 2 ); PA W , projected area perpendicular to the width (mm 2 ); PA T , projected area perpendicular to the thickness (mm 2 ), were measured by using a camera and Fiji ImageJ.…”

Meta analysis on color, total flavonoids, antioxidants, frictional, mechanical, and cutting force of moringa pods

“…Nonetheless, aspect ratio and moisture content imperatively affected the frictional and mechanical properties of moringa. So far, research studies have reported only on changes in quality, nutritional and textural attributes of moringa leaf powder using different drying techniques and various drying temperatures (Premi et al, 2012; Saini et al, 2014; Verma et al, 2015; Looi et al, 2019; Manju et al, 2021), frictional properties of moringa pods (Sudagar et al, 2021), and moisture‐dependent physical properties of moringa seeds (Aviara et al, 2013). There were no investigations on the frictional and mechanical characteristics of moringa pods concerning to aspect ratio and moisture content.…”

Structural, thermal, techno‐functional and chemical characterization using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Gas‐Chromatography‐Mass Spectrophotometry, Thermogravimetric Analyser, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy‐Dispersive X‐Ray Spectrometer of Moringa Oleifera flower powder

“…(2022), the antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera flower was observed to be 56.95 ± 0.77 μg/mL. The antioxidant activity of the flower extract might be due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds in the extract (Manju et al ., 2021).…”

“…Nitrogen was used as carrier gas at a rate of 20 mL/min. The sample was held at 600 °C for a minute, then the weight changes were observed in the form of a graph, and the values were collected (Balogun et al ., 2021; Manju et al ., 2021).…”