Mathematical modelling of the osmotic dehydration of physalis

Fernanda Rosa Assis,Rui Manuel Santos Costa De Morais,Alcina Maria Miranda Bernardo De Morais

doi:10.1590/1981-6723.10217

Fernanda Rosa Assis, Rui Manuel Santos Costa De Morais + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-6723.10217

Copy DOI

Abstract

Abstract Physalis was osmotically dehydrated with 60 °Bx sucrose or sorbitol solutions at 60 °C and with a mass ratio of sample to solution of 1:4, at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum at 150 mbar. The Crank’s, Peleg’s and Page’s models were tested to describe the mass transfer kinetics for water loss (WL) and solids gain (SG). The effective diffusivities of both water and solute were around 10-11 m2 s-1 under all conditions. Peleg’s model presented the best fit. The use of sorbitol as the osmotic agent resulted in an increase in the WL rate. In experiments with sucrose solutions, a higher WL was obtained under vacuum than at atmospheric pressure. The SG was particularly low during osmotic dehydration. Thus, the use of sorbitol as the osmotic agent was shown to be a promising alternative to sucrose.

Highlights

Physalis, or cape gooseberry or golden berry (Physalis peruviana L.) is an exotic fruit which originated in South America, but is currently commercialised in several tropical and subtropical countries (İZLI et al, 2014; SALAZAR et al, 2008; YILDIZ et al, 2015)
A low rate of water loss (WL) can be observed in the early phase of the process. This can be explained by the low permeability to fluid exchange of the surface of physalis (PUENTE et al, 2011; RAMADAN, 2011)
Under the experimental conditions used for the Osmotic dehydration (OD) of physalis, a low solute gain was observed during the whole process, besides presenting great variability of the data

Summary

Introduction

Cape gooseberry or golden berry (Physalis peruviana L.) is an exotic fruit which originated in South America, but is currently commercialised in several tropical and subtropical countries (İZLI et al, 2014; SALAZAR et al, 2008; YILDIZ et al, 2015). The interest in physalis increased due to its nutritional composition and the presence of biologically active compounds that provide health benefits due to medicinal properties such as antispasmodic, diuretic, antiseptic, sedative, analgesic and antidiabetic activities (MUNIZ et al, 2015; PUENTE et al, 2011; SALAZAR et al, 2008). The fruit contains 15% soluble solids, mainly sugars, and is an excellent source of bioactive compounds such as provitamin A, vitamin C, iron and some of. The production of physalis has increased in recent years, but it is a highly perishable fruit with a recommended commercialization period of 12 hours after harvest, otherwise requiring special storage conditions (LUCHESE et al, 2015)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion