article · Journal of Food Process Engineering
This study investigated how different pretreatments and drying temperatures affect apple slices dried using a pulsed vacuum dryer. Researchers examined the impact of ethanol, ultrasound with water (US + W), and simultaneous dual-frequency ultrasound with ethanol (US + E) pretreatments on drying kinetics, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, colour, and microstructure. The findings showed that the US + E pretreatment significantly reduced drying time by 20-33.33%. This method also proved most effective in retaining total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity, as well as preserving the colour of the apple slices. Microstructural analysis indicated that US + E pretreatment created more prominent cell disruption and microchannels, aiding faster moisture removal.
Drying is a common way to preserve apples, but it often reduces their nutritional value and quality. This research offers a novel pretreatment method that can speed up the drying process while better preserving the healthy compounds, antioxidant activity, and appearance of dried apple slices, leading to higher quality products.
This research presents an applied method for improving the quality of dried apple products. Food processing companies could adopt the simultaneous dual-frequency ultrasound aided ethanolic pretreatment to produce dried apple slices with better nutritional retention and appearance. This technology appears to be at an applied and tested stage, offering a competitive advantage in the dried fruit market.
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Abstract This work aims at investigating effect of different pretreatments and varied temperature on the drying kinetics, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, microstructure and functional group of apple slices using pulsed vacuum dryer. Pretreated apple slices (Ethanol, US + W, and US + E) dried at varied temperature (60, 70, and 80°C) were analyzed to determine total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH + ), 2,2‐azino‐bis‐(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid (ABTS + ), color, microstructure and FT‐IR spectroscopy. The findings revealed that US + E pretreatment significantly ( p < .05) decreased drying time (20–33.33%). Activation energy and moisture effective diffusivity were 17.60–29.86 kJ/mol and 1.52–3.60 × 10 −8 m 2 /s, respectively. Microstructure evaluation showed disruption of cells structure and microchannels formation but was more prominent in US + E pretreatment with noticeable larger pores and several microchannels. US + E pretreatment retained TPC (64.89–75.75 mg/100 g GAE dw), TFC (45.96–56.25 mg/100 g ER dw), DPPH + (66.85–73.34%) and ABTS + (62.58–71.17%) than Ethanol, US + W, and control and was further corroborated by the observed peaks as revealed by the FT‐IR spectroscopy. Color ( L *, a *, b *, whiteness) was better retained by Ethanol and US + E pretreatments. US + E pretreatment decreased drying time and also preserved bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity and color of apple slices. Practical application Apples are popularly consumed fruits and confer various nutritional and health benefits to humans. Drying is the most common approach for apple processing and shelf life extension. However, drying often leads to a reduction in quality parameters as well as degradation of nutritional components of the apple. Novel pretreatment techniques like ultrasonic aided ethanolic pretreatment preceding to apple drying provides an added advantage over conventional drying methods in that it reduces dehydration time as a result of faster moisture removal, lowers energy consumption, improves process efficiency leading to industrial competiveness and it also preserves the nutritional and sensorial parameters of dried apple slices.
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DOI: 10.1111/jfpe.13535
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