Effect of drying methods on quality of dried white tumeric (Curcuma amada)

Abstract

White turmeric (Curcuma amada) is a traditional medicine that contains phenolic as an antioxidant—usually processed into drinks or capsules. Currently, the drying method used is sunlight can reduce the quality of white turmeric. The study’s objectives were to investigate the most optimal drying method based on physical and chemical quality and drying rate. There were seven drying methods employed: sun-drying (SD), cabinet drying with the heating temperature of 50 °C, 60°C, and 70°C (namely CD50, CD60, and CD70, respectively), freeze-drying with the final heating temperature of 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C (namely FD30, FD40, and FD50, respectively). Quality parameters measured were moisture content, color, volume, particle density, morphological visualization, and total phenolic compound. The results showed that the drying method affected the observed parameters. The freeze-drying with a heating temperature of 30°C was the most optimal drying method, with moisture content reduced from 91.41% to 7.56%. After the drying process, the color changed value was 19.18, with a volume shrinkage of 69.37% and particle density of 0.41 g/cm3. The total phenolic compound of freeze-dried white Tumeric was 8.427 mgGAE gsolid −1.