Tray Dryer Research Articles

Tray drying of medical cannabis inflorescences at industrial scale: Kinetics measurement and modeling towards the implementation of statistical process control

The production of medical cannabis in compliance with the guidelines of Good Manufacturing Practice requires a science-based control strategy for the process. In this work, we hypothesized that industrial tray drying process of cannabis inflorescences can be achieved through an accurate selection and fitting of mechanistic models. In total, three industrial runs were measured and modeled from an initial moisture content of 70–72 wt% to a final content of ≤12 wt%. The temperature, relative humidity, and flow rate of convection air were kept constant at 20 °C, 50 %, and 9800 m3h−1. A two-period model based on external resistance and intraparticle diffusion (FUMM+SPPM) was the best to describe the process, with a fitting error of 16.9 %. A control chart was conceived using FUMM+SPPM and a non-linear relation for the standard deviation along time. The suitability of the FUMM+SPPM was demonstrated with a validation run, resulting in a prediction error of 11.5 %; and where the upper and lower control limits of the control chart were respected. A sensitivity analysis showed that the initial moisture uncertainty can offset by 11.6 % the duration of the drying process. A deeper analysis on the fitted intraparticle diffusion coefficients points the migration of water to resemble osmotic movement. Globally, this study validates the adopted pathway to launch and improve a statistical process control for the tray drying of medical cannabis inflorescences.

Drying Behavior of Moringa Oleifera Leaves using Tray Dryer

Moringa oleifera leaves have been dried in a tray drier to investigate the drying behaviors of Moringa oleifera leaves at three different temperatures for their moisture content, color, iron and protein content, as well as total phenolic content. Three levels of temperatures were chosen varying from 50, 60 and 70 °C in this study. Drying time reduced significantly with the rise in temperature. The final moisture content of dried leaves at 50, 60 and 70 °C was 4.89, 4.79, and 4.59 % and reached equilibrium moisture content at 4, 2, and 1.5 hours. For the water activity, all the dried leaves give a low amount of water activity from 0.0912 to 0.1838 at 70 - 50 °C where the higher the temperature the lower the water activity. This indicates that the lower the temperature, the slower the drying time required to decrease moisture content to below 5 % and a smaller amount of water activity. This ability to preserve its taste and nourishment. For the color changes, the value for greenness (-a) has no significant difference but notable differences were detected between the color parameters of fresh and dried leaves for whiteness L value and yellowness b. This shows that drying under a tray dryer has the same color as the fresh M. oleifera leaves. There was no notable difference in the value for protein but a significant difference (P<0.05) in the value for iron contents of the fresh and dried leaves. The total phenolic content (TPC) obtained from this study was 46.97 - 55.78 mg GAE/g FW for drying at 50 to 70 °C. Results from this study discover a great option for large-scale drying using method.

Development of a Solar Tray Dryer

Abstract: The solar drying system utilizes solar energy to heat up air and to dry food materials which in turn helps in preserving agricultural product for long duration in ambient condition. In light of the impediments of the normal sun drying for example openness to coordinate daylight, obligation to pests and rodents, absence of proper monitoring and the raised expense of the mechanical dryer. A minimal expense sunlight based dryer is subsequently evolved to cater for this limitation. this project presents the plan and development of a domestic passive solar powered dryer. The dryer is composed of solar collector (air heater) , a solar drying chamber with three cloth (net) tray ,inlet for air at the bottom and an outlet with exhaust fan operated by solar panel fitted of the top of the chamber. The air permitted in through air inlet is warmed up in the solar collector and diverted through the drying chamber where it is used for drying

Influence of pre-treatment and drying process of the shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) exoskeleton for balanced feed production

Shrimp industry wastes can be transformed and used as raw material for the development of new products. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of pre-treatment and drying process of the shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) exoskeleton for balanced feed production. The balanced feed was made with shrimp flour (25.74%), cotton seed cake (24.56%), rice bran (22.06%), beef tallow (16.18%), sweet potato flour (5.81%), and cassava flour (5.66%). To obtain the flour, shrimp processing waste (heads and exoskeletons) were blanched, dried, ground and sieved. Blanching was carried out using a full factorial 22 experimental design, where temperature and time were evaluated as independent variables. The drying kinetics of the blanched exoskeletons were performed in a tray dryer at different temperatures (40 and 50 °C) and air velocity (1, 1.5 and 2 m/s). The blanching process showed no significant effect on the protein content present in shrimp by-products. The drying kinetics showed that the greatest loss of moisture occurs in the period of decreasing velocity, dominated by mass transfer by diffusion. The Page model showed the best fit for the experimental data. From the mixture of shrimp flour with the other ingredients in the proportions indicated by the Solve software, fish food pellets were obtained. These met the nutritional requirements of fish (tarpon) in the juvenile-commercial stage.

Hyperspectral Detection of Moisture Content in Rice Straw Nutrient Bowl Trays Based on PSO-SVR

In the process of rice straw nutrient bowl tray drying, real-time detection of changes in moisture content to achieve automatic adjustment of drying factors is one of the important means to ensure its drying quality. At present, the main method for measuring the moisture content of rice straw nutrient bowl trays is the drying and weighing method. This method is not only time consuming, labor intensive, and complex to operate, but also has poor real-time performance, which cannot meet the demand for real-time detection of the moisture content in the production process of rice straw nutrient bowl trays. In this regard, a real-time moisture content detection method for rice straw nutrient bowl trays based on hyperspectral imaging technology was studied. In this study we took the rice straw nutrient bowl tray during the drying process as the research object, adopted a single factor experiment, took microwave power, hot air temperature, and hot air speed as the drying factors, and took the moisture content of the rice straw nutrient bowl tray as the drying index. The rice straw nutrient bowl tray was dried according to the designed drying conditions. When drying, we removed the rice straw nutrient bowl tray every 5 min for weighing and collected hyperspectral image data within the wavelength range of 400~1000 nm until its quality remained unchanged. A total of 204 samples were collected. Using the average spectrum of the region of interest as the sample for effective spectral information, spectral preprocessing was performed using multivariate scattering correction (MSC), standardization normal variables (SNV), and Savitzky–Golay convolution smoothing (SG) methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) and competitive adaptive reweighting (CARS) methods were adopted for the dimensionality reduction of the spectral data. Three prediction models of rice straw nutrient bowl tray moisture content, namely random forest regression (RF), particle swarm optimization support vector regression (PSO-SVR), and XGBoost model were constructed using the reduced dimension spectral data. Finally, the performance of the model was compared using the coefficient of determination (R2) and mean square error (RMSE) as evaluation indicators. The research results indicate that the PCA-PSO-SVR model established based on SG method preprocessing has the best predictive performance, with a training set decision coefficient R2C of 0.984, a training set mean square error RMSE-C of 2.775, a testing set decision coefficient R2P of 0.971, and a testing set mean square error RMSE-P of 3.448. The model therefore has a high accuracy. This study achieved rapid detection of water content in rice straw nutrition trays. This method provides a reliable theoretical basis and technical support for the rapid detection of rice straw nutrient bowl tray moisture content, and is of great significance for improving the quality of rice straw nutrient bowl trays; promoting the popularization and application of raising rice straw nutrient bowl tray seedlings and whole process mechanized planting technology system; improving soil structure; and protecting the ecological environment.

Determination Of Optimum Drying Condition On Flavonoid Content Of Ficus Carica L. Leaves Using Tray Dryer

This research aims to find out the characteristics of Ficus carica L. drying process using a tray dryer and determine the effect of temperature and drying time on Ficus Carica L. flavonoid content using a tray dryer to obtain Ficus carica L. herbal leaf tea which is high in antioxidants. At the experimental stage, the water content of fresh leaves of Ficus carica L. were determined, so the water content is 74 ± 1.11% (wet base), then dried using a tray dryer at 35; 40; 45; 50; and 55oC, with a variation of the drying air flow rate of 1.3; 1.6; 1.9; 2.2; and 2.4 m/s. The optimum temperature and drying air flow rate are 50oC and 1.9 m/s since the highest flavonoid content was obtained at those condition as much 0.78 ± 0.001 gram QE/100gram extract. Dried products which packaged in tea bags have a content of 23.60% carbohydrate, total fat 3.50%, protein 5.35%,antioxidant 154.25 ppm and calorific value of 1430 Kcal/100 grams. It can be concluded that Ficus carica L. drying process using a tray dryer can be used to produce herbal leaf tea which is high in antioxidants and flavonoid content.

Drying kinetics and image-based identification of drying end point during parboiling of komal chawal

During the process of parboiling, steamed rice goes through a process of drying till a suitable moisture content for storage. This work is based on classifying suitable moisture content of less than 13% for storage. Further, this classification is used for estimating the end point of drying based on images of rice taken out at different time intervals. The drying process is a basic process for food technologists and involves mathematical modeling to determine the process parameters. Optimal drying time calculation to achieve desired moisture content involves the use of mathematical modeling. There are two ways of calculating the end point. One is using already existing drying models, e.g., Page, Newton, etc., with time as a factor; the other is using FF- ANN with one hidden layer with drying time and temperature as a factor; and for theoretical understating of the diffusion process, the analytical solution of Fick's law was studied. The other method involves using extrinsic data like the RGB values and pixel values of images mapped with moisture content classes predicted using machine learning models. This study aims to show how RGB data-based machine learning models for classification gives real time solutions to problems like calculating the final moisture content after drying of parboiled brown rice. Digital images were used as input, pixel values were used as features, and the images were labeled into two categories: A (moisture greater than 13%) and B (less than or equal to 13%). For this purpose, the dataset used consists of the moisture content of samples at different times (0–180 min) and temperatures (40, 50, and 60 °C) of drying in a tray dryer. Semi empirical models were evaluated, and Modified-Page showed the best fitting, The Feed forward Artificial Neural Network was observed to show an accuracy of 0.882 based on the least square error. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was used to map the image pixel data to classify the rice sample based on moisture content with a validation accuracy of 0.79 and a test accuracy of 0.74. Similarly, RGB values-based ML models like CART showed better accuracy of 0.92 approximately. Lastly, a simple calculator for an android application was built in MIT App Inventor by selecting the best fitted model of classification (LR, KNN, NB, or SVM) based on RGB values as the features.

Influence of refrigerated adsorption dehumidified drying towards the retention of phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant properties of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum): Performance comparison with convection, solar and fluidized bed dryer

Cardamom, known by the botanical name Elettaria cardamomum, is a well-known spice which is increasingly used in the field of cosmetics and industrial applications in the form of dried powders and oil. However, usage of cardamom is limited by its moisture content (around 80% in wet basis) and for effective oil extraction and usage, cardamom needs to be dried to a moisture content of less than 10% (in wet basis) prior to usage. Solar driers are traditionally used for cardamom drying and fluidized bed driers and tray driers are also used for industrial-level large-scale drying. During drying, loss of bioactive like phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidants become inevitable. Under such a scenario, this study explores the performance of low-temperature, low-humidity dryers namely refrigeration adsorption dehumidified dryers (RADD), designed and developed by CSIR-NIIST, for retention of bioactives during drying. To assess and compare the RADD with traditional dryers, experiments were performed in a tray dryer, solar dryer and fluidized bed dryer and the results are compared with RADD. It was found that cardamom dried in RADD retained around 70–75% of total phenolic, flavonoid and anti-oxidant compounds, whereas retention in other conventional drying methods was in the range 35–60% only. Advanced analysis such as SEM, FTIR and GC-MS was also done to evaluate the morphological changes, functional group changes and difference in essential oil composition due to different drying methods. Considering the overall result it has been proved that RADD has several advantages over the conventional dryers (due to low temperature and low humidity inside RADD) and thus can be used for drying cardamom which will promise good quality cardamom with maximum retention or preservation of all the bioactives. Thus, RADD is found to be a promising alternative for fluidized bed dryers and also it performs better than other conventional drying methods.

Mathematical Modelling of Dried Carica papaya Leaves

Background: Papaya leaves botanically classified as Carica papaya and are used medicinally in teas to aid in digestion. The Carica Papaya leaves are often considered as wastes, but they are actually beneficial for health. The study was aimed to achieve the suitable drying parameters of operation that makes the drying process to complete in less time without effecting the keeping quality of the product. Methods: The study was conducted using 3 drying methods which consisted of tray drying at temperatures 50°C, 60°C and 70°C, microwave drying at power levels 20% (180 Watts), 30% (270 Watts) and 40% (360 Watts), microwave vacuum drying at pressures of vacuum 400 mmHg, 500 mmHg and 600 mmHg and power levels 20% (180 Watts), 30% (270 Watts) and 40% (360 Watts). Twelve different mathematical drying models were compared based on their correlation coefficient, root mean square error and reduced chi-square to estimate the drying curves. Result: Experimental results showed that page model and weibulls distribution gave the best results, evidenced by the highest average correlation coefficient value of 0.9796, lowest average RMSE (Root mean square error) value of 0.0286 lowest average SSE value of 0.014 and the reduced average c² value of 0.0019. It is concluded that page model and weibulls distribution could sufficiently describe the tray drying, microwave and microwave vacuum drying respectively of carica papaya leaves.

Effect of Immersion Concentration in Salt Solution, Drying Time and Air Velocity on Drying Wet Noodles Using a Tray Dryer and Solar Assistance

The noodles in the market are dry noodles with 8-10% water content. Dried noodles have a longer shelf life because they are less prone to mold growth. Drying noodles with the help of the sun and tray dryers are currently an option because they are efficient and do not require a lot of energy. Reduction of water content is also optimized by soaking wet noodles in salt water. This study aims to determine the effect of soaking noodles in salt water and the flow rate to decrease the water content of noodles. The study began with soaking wet noodles in a salt solution with a variation of 50-150 g/L, then dried for 1 hour using a hybrid method and tray dryer with a flow rate variation of 1.2-3.3 m/s. Observations were made at intervals of 0-1 hour. The results showed that the time and speed of the flow rate can reduce the humidity in the drying chamber of the tray dryer. The lowest water content reduction of up to 11% was obtained when soaking wet noodles in 150 g/L salt solution and at the highest flow rate of 3.3 m/s. The ANOVA results show that the drying method with tray dryer is more optimal than hybrid drying. Thus, this method can be a solution to optimize the noodle drying process quickly and efficiently.

Evaluation of banana varieties and osmotic agents on physical attributes of intermediate moisture (IM) banana

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different osmotic agents on the physical attributes of Intermediate Moisture (IM) fruit, using six cultivars of banana (Musa spp.) belonging to different genomic groups viz. Nendran (AAB), Pisang Lilin (AA), Karpooravalli (ABB), Njalipoovan (AB), Grand Naine (ABB) and Yangambi km5 (AAA). Banana fruits were cut into longitudinal slices of 8mm thickness to evaluate the physical quality using seven osmotic agents (sucrose, glucose, sucrose + sorbitol, glucose + sorbitol, palm sugar, honey, sucrose + NaCl). The fruits were steam blanched for 2 minutes before being immersed in osmotic solutions for an 8-hour duration at a fruit: osmotic solution ratio of 1:2 and subsequently dried for two hours using a tray drier at 60oC. A significant difference (p=0.05) in water loss was only for the variety Grand Naine (62.12%) in fruits treated with honey and the lowest (29.77%) in the variety Karpooravalli in fruit slices immersed in sucrose. Higher (23.55%) solid gain was recorded in the variety Grand Naine in fruit slices immersed in glucose syrup and lowest (5.83%) in the variety Karpooravalli in fruit slices treated with honey. IM banana of variety Pisang Lilin had the highest (45.40%) weight loss in fruit slices immersed in honey and the lowest (19.13%) in variety Pisang Lilin in fruit slices immersed in glucose+sorbitol. IM banana from variety Njalipoovan had the highest (27.46%) moisture content in fruit slices immersed in palm sugar (T5) solution and the lowest (13.53%) in variety Nendran in fruit slices immersed in sucrose+NaCl. A higher value for water activity was in IM banana variety ‘Pisang Lilin’ treated with sucrose (0.86) and the lowest (0.79) was recorded in varieties Nendran and Grand Naine. IM banana developed from all six varieties treated with honey and combinations of sucrose, glucose, and sorbitol had the lowest water activity. It can be concluded that the more the ‘A’ genome in banana varieties, the higher its permeability for mass transfer. IM banana treated with honey, a combination of sucrose and glucose, and sorbitol had higher values for water loss, solid gain and weight loss and lower values for moisture content and water activity.

Effect of thermal processing on debittering process and its impact on the functional properties of palmyrah young shoot flour

Palmyrah young shoot is rich in starch and fiber and provides good glycemic control. Unfortunately, the consumption rate is limited by the presence of bitter and toxic compounds. Reported literatures reveal that thermal treatment especially dry heat processes like milling the flour at more than 80 °C had an impact on toxicity reduction rather than wet heat processes like boiling. As a result, the current study was aimed to investigate the combined effect of wet (boiling) and dry (radio frequency) heat processing on the debittering of young shoot flour in comparison with tray drying. In the study the flour obtained by a combination of boiling and drying was considered as treated flour and without boiling and drying was considered as untreated flour. The combined effect of wet and dry heat processing had an impact on the nutrients but had no effect on bitterness reduction. The study found tray dried untreated flour favored the feasibility of bitterness reduction as compared to other samples. The compounds (FlabelliferinsB, Flabelliferins–II, isomers of flabelliferins, and vitamin C) responsible for bitterness and its intensity were identified by FTMS. Furthermore, the study revealed that debittering process improved the functional properties of young shoot flour compared to raw flour.

Evaluation Of Dehydration Performance Of Belitung Taro (Xanthosoma Sagittifolium) Using Tray Dryer

Belitung Taro (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) is a plant that can be processed into various food products. The high-water content of taro and the lack of a precise drying system made this material easy to rot. This study aims to evaluate the dehydration performance of tray dryers to reduce the water content of Belitung Taro. The independent variables used were air velocity (3-6 m/s), taro thickness (1-4 mm), and drying time (30-120 min). The results showed that the optimum drying time of taro is 30 min. The dryer airflow of 5 m/s significantly reduces the water content. The thickness of the slices positively affects the drying rate. The lowest water content was obtained in drying with a thickness of 1 mm. The ANOVA results show the effect of thickness, time, and flow rate variations on the drying rate. Three types of mathematical modeling are used to estimate moisture content: Newton, Page, and Modified Page. The Modified Page equation was preferred to detect the moisture content of the taro. From this study, the optimum condition of the tray dryer can be the best solution to dehydrate Belitung Taro effectively and efficiently

Compositional Changes of the Jujube Fruit During Solar and Tray Drying

In this study, jujube fruit (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.) was used as material. Jujube fruits were obtained from producer in Çivril-Denizli regions. Firstly, total solube solids, dry matter, titratable acidity, pH, total phenolic content, organic acid (malic, citric, succinic, and tartaric acid), sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose), and water-soluble vitamins (ascorbic acid, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and thiamine) in fresh jujube fruit were analyzed. Secondly, fresh jujube fruits were dried in a solar and tray dryer (50, 60, and 70 °C). Total phenolic content was determined by the spectrophotometric method. Sugars, organic acids, and water-soluble vitamins content were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instrument. By solar drying the jujube fruit, the glucose and sucrose content of the fruit decreased, while the fructose content increased. While the initial fructose content was 242.6±4.3, solar drying increased to 256.9±4.0. There was a decrease in glucose, fructose and sucrose contents in jujube fruits dried by tray drying process. It was determined that the organic acid and water-soluble vitamin content of jujube fruit decreased in both solar and tray drying processes. Among the water-soluble vitamins, the highest loss was observed in ascorbic acid and pyridoxine. It was determined that the jujube fruit, whose initial ascorbic acid content was 71.2±0.5, decreased to 9.6±0.1 and 12.1±0.2 values as a result of drying in the solar and on the tray, respectively. On the other hand, solar drying resulted in a greater reduction in vitamin content compared to tray drying.

Optimization of Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) Microgreen Sprinkler using Alternate Drying Techniques

Background: Fresh microgreens are nutrient dense crops with high moisture content, thus have a short life span. Application of different drying techniques enhanced its shelf life but leads to nutrient losses. There is permanent need to enhance the nutrient retention in dried microgreen. Methods: The research study of microgreens investigated during 2019-2020 at Punjab Agricultural University. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Palam Samridhi) seeds were soaked overnight and grown in outdoor setting and harvested at 10th day after germination. The harvested broccoli microgreens were dried using shade drying, tray drying and microwave drying. Dried samples were analyzed for nutritional parameters. Result: Microgreens contain significantly higher nutrients (Ca, Fe, Zn, Mg, K, ascorbic acid and b carotene), bioactive compounds (chlorophyll, total flavanoids and total phenols) and antioxidant activity as compared to their sprouts and mature counterparts. These are excellent sources of Fe, Ca, Zn, Mg, Vitamin C and beta carotene (pro-vitamin A), meeting per cent estimated average requirements (EAR) of 536%, 373%, 264%, 228%, 38%, 20% for Indian adult. To address the problem of perishability, there is a need to prolong their shelf life while retaining the nutritional quality. The present research has identified the optimum drying technique, on basis of nutrient retention, from a set of alternate techniques. Significant higher content of ascorbic acid (16.80 mg/100 g), chlorophyll (3.63 g/100 g), antioxidant activity (67.55%), Zn (35.23 mg/100 g), Fe (57.66 mg/100 g), Ca (2857 mg/100 g), K (334.23 mg/100 g) and Mg (706.43 mg/100 g) were observed in microwave dried microgreens. Incorporation of dried microgreen powder in food sprinkler resulted in a significant increase in vitamins, minerals, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity as compared to the control.

Rehydration modeling and characterization of dehydrated sweet corn.

The increasing demand of rehydrated foods is due to its better storage stability at ambient conditions and not requiring refrigeration. Prior to drying at 55, 60, 65, and 70°C in a hot air tray dryer, hot water blanching (HB), steam blanching (SB), and microwave blanching (MB) were employed as pretreatments. Rehydration of dried pretreated sweet corn kernel was performed in boiling water. The pretreatments and drying temperatures were independent factors that affected the dependent factors such as rehydration ratio, total sugar, ascorbic acid, geometric mean diameter, color, sensory evaluation, water absorption, mass, and geometric mean diameter. Peleg, Weibull, and newly proposed models were considered to describe the change in moisture content during rehydration. The proposed model performed better than other models and indicated the rise in equilibrium moisture content of rehydrated sweet corn with an increase in dehydration temperature of sweet corn due to higher R 2 (0.994), and lower chi-square (0.005) and RMSE (0.064). The rehydrated sweet corn obtained from samples processed with microwave blanching and dehydration at 70°C showed higher retention of total sugar, ascorbic acid, geometric mean diameter, and color.

Powder Qualities of Foam-Mat Dried Mango

The objectives of this study are to demonstrate powder qualities of foam-mat dried mango using different foaming agents and then compare mango powder qualities of foam-mat drying method to that of the studies in other drying methods. Fresh puree of Mahajanaka mango (Mangifera indica L.) grown in the north of Thailand is mixed with glyceryl monostearate (GMS), sugar and soybean isolated (SBI) in different ratios as foaming agents, after that is dried at 70 °C in a tray dryer for 5 h. The color and % foam overrun revealed that GMS with sugar treatments contribute a decent quality more than that with SBI. Therefore, powder qualities of foam-mat dried mango using GMS with sugar are analyzed. Different ratios of GMS and sugar are not affected by their moisture content, solubility, and hygroscopicity values. The best powder quality is found when added 1 % GMS with 5 % sugar during storage at 90 %RH, and 38 ± 2 °C. Comparing the foam-mat dried mango qualities to other drying methods. It was found that foam-mat dried mango indicated a similarity appearance and moisture to spray dried and freeze-dried mango. The disadvantage of foam-mat drying method is a lowest solubility and hygroscopicity, but the more advantage of this method could be a low operation and maintenance cost. Therefore, good qualities of foam-mat dried mango powder with a cost-effective production would be a commercial potential for small-medium enterprise or community enterprise utilization. HIGHLIGHTS Mango powder qualities produced by a foam-mat drying as good as that 1 manufacturing using freeze drying and spray drying Foam-mat drying technology is a cost-effective production proper for a small-medium community enterprise especially in Thailand Foam-mat mango powder can apply for ingredients in a food manufacturing such as bakery, ice-cream, instant drinking and so on. This could be created mango usage diversity GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Blended tulsi-drumstick herbal tea: Quality and organoleptic properties

Background: Herbal tea is consumed as a refreshing drink for its health benefits and potential therapeutic properties. Herbs such as tulsi and moringa are rich in phenols and antioxidants, which offer several health benefits. Methods: This investigation was carried out during 2019-20, the leaf samples were collected from the field at college campus. Tulsi and moringa leaves were cleaned and dried by using tray drier, blended in different proportions with green tea. The blended herbal tea powder was assessed for moisture, water activity, TSS, phenols and antioxidants. Tea was prepared from these blends and organoleptic analysis was carried out. Result: The moisture content, water activity, TSS, phenols and antioxidants ranged from 7.30±0.058 - 8.70±0.035%, 0.24±0.00- 0.34±0.00, 4.41±0.006g - 8.52±0.006a⁰B, 60.84±0.00h 125.08±0.0058amg GAE 100g-1, 89.16±0.0126i - 93.47±0.100a%, respectively. All the herbal tea samples were in organoleptically acceptable range.

Valorization of essential oils from citrus peel powder using hydro-distillation

Citrus species exhibit many important natural bioactive compounds, such as ascorbic acid, essential oils, and antioxidant substances. Citrus essential oils are a complex mixture of volatile and non-volatile compounds obtained from the citrus fruit peel, which are discarded as waste. These citrus peels are a rich source of essential oils having medicinal benefits such as antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. An experiment was carried out on two Citrus species (Citrus reticulata cv. (kinnow) and Citrus X sinensis (orange)) peel powder to study the essential oil composition. The kinnow and orange peels were dried using the sun and tray drying method and were compared. The peel powder obtained by sun and tray drying was tested for antioxidant activity (DPPH assay, TPC activity, and ascorbic acid activity). The essential oil was extracted from peel powder using a sustainable hydro-distillation technique. The results revealed that the highest yield was obtained in tray-dried orange peel powder (9.98%), followed by tray-dried kinnow peel powder (9.70%). The bioactive composition of the extracted essential oils was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The kinnow and orange peel essential oil composition was predominated with d-limonene, terpenoids, and sesquiterpenes, enhancing its medicinal value. Thus, this study developed a green, sustainable, and eco-friendly hydro-distillation technique for citrus essential oil extraction.

Processing of encapsulated flaxseed oil‐rich banana‐based (Dwarf cavendish) functional fruit leather

AbstractBanana fruit leather enriched with flaxseed oil in the form of encapsulates was prepared. Initially, the optimized conditions of 836 W power for 4 min for blanching of banana using microwave were obtained by Response Surface Methodology with residual polyphenol oxidase activity and vitamin C retention taken as responses. The addition of maltodextrin, citric acid, and pectin for blending with banana puree to obtain a non sticky puree having low pH was also optimized, while keeping the quantity of sugar constant. The blend was added with 5% encapsulates of flaxseed oil (FSO) in alginate used as wall material. The blend was dried in a tray drier at 40, 50, and 60°C and the drying behavior of the leather was studied. Henderson and Pabis model satisfactorily described the drying kinetics of banana leather. GAB model described well the sorption behavior of the leather. Fat content in the optimized leather increased to 3.27% due to addition of FSO. The ash content in the enriched leather was 5.56 ± 0.03%. Phenolic content increased from 91.84 ± 0.06 mg GAE/100 g to 100.90 ± 0.05 mg GAE/100 g for the enriched leather as compared to the control. The study revealed that the banana leather can be considered as a functional snack food due to the availability of flaxseed oil (rich in ω‐3 fatty) and high phenolic acid content.Practical ApplicationsBanana can be processed into functional fruit leather with the addition of flaxseed oil encapsulated beads to complement the fast moving consumer goods market. Developing the banana leather by drying enhances its shelf life while encapsulation increases the stability of flaxseed oil for a prolonged storage of the product. Flaxseed oil is rich in ω‐3 fatty acid, an important bioactive compound required for good human health. Moreover, modeling of the drying behavior allows optimization of the process, which is necessary for designing of energy efficient industrial flow dryers. Therefore, this study on development of a novel functional product and drying kinetics will give a new edge to the industrial processing of similar snack products with a potential alternative to reduce the waste of banana as a raw material.