OPTIMIZATION OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF TOONA SINENSIS LEAVES USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Abstract

Toona sinensis leaves were pretreated by osmotic dehydration. The effects of temperature, immersion time, sucrose and salt concentration on water loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration were investigated by response surface methodology. Consequently, second order polynomial models were developed for water loss and solid gain as a function of the experimental parameters. The optimal conditions for maximum water loss and minimum solid gain were temperature of 36C, sucrose concentration of 47%, salt concentration of 10%, and immersion time of 4 hours.