Impact of Drying Methods on the Quality of Bioactive Components in Tree Tomato (Cyphomandra betacae)

Abstract

Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) is a tree native to Peru and is cultivated in few areas of Western and Eastern Ghats in India. It has high nutritive and therapeutic value due to the abundance of health promoting substances. Owing to its high nutritive profile, a study was conducted to examine the nutritional composition of fresh fruits and dried fruit powder. Fresh Tamarillo was dried under different methods of drying (sun drying, cabinet/tray drying and freeze drying). The dried samples were made into powder and used for comparative analysis of various bioactive constituents and antioxidants (antioxidant activity, total phenols, carotene, vitamin C, colour value, elemental analysis). From the results it was observed that the samples dried under freeze dried condition exhibited better antioxidant activity (13.82 mg/g), carotene (15.97 mg/100 g), vitamin C content (217.1 mg/100 g) than that of the samples dried under sun drying and cabinet tray drying. This might be due to long exposure time and leaching effect of the tamarillo samples to air. Among the three drying methods, sun drying resulted in significant micronutrient loss and exhibited low antioxidant activity due to the use of uncontrolled temperature during drying process. This underutilized fruit is consumed in the fresh form as it is a seasonal fruit. Converting the seasonal fruit into dried or powder form will help in development of nutria-rich food products.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 Tamarillo is an underutilized fruit that possesses higher nutritional and therapeutic values. The extract of the fruits also contains a wide range of antioxidant activities
 Study on the nutritional profile and antioxidant activity of tamarillo was conducted with the samples dried under different drying conditions (sun drying, cabinet tray drying and freeze drying)
 The samples dried under freeze dried condition exhibited better antioxidant activity
 The tamarillo fruits could be a better source to develop antioxidant rich value-added products, nutraceuticals and bio colorant
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT