Effect of storage parameters on freeze‐dried kefir grains

The purpose of this study was to use freeze‐drying to preserve microbial activity while extending the shelf life of kefir grains and to determine the best storage temperature. Freeze‐dried kefir grains were lyophilised and were later stored in a multilayer plastic film with a moisture barrier for 90 days at varying temperatures. Microbial activity continued until the 60^th day of storage at 4 °C. PCR analysis was performed to determine Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens as an indicator kefir micro‐organism. It was concluded that the conservation of kefir grains by freeze‐drying protects the natural embedded microbiota; therefore, both the shelf life of kefir grains and the consumption of natural kefir increase.     

Effect of vacuum‐drying,hot air‐drying and freeze‐drying on polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of lemon (Citrus limon) pomace aqueous extracts

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of freeze‐drying, hot air‐drying and vacuum‐drying at 70, 90 and 110 °C, on dried lemon pomace polyphenols and antioxidant capacity. The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were higher in lemon pomace dried by hot air or under vacuum than those dried by freeze‐drying and increased as the temperature increased. The highest total flavonoid content was recorded in the pomace dried under vacuum at 70 and 90 °C. Lemon pomace dried by freeze‐drying had the highest neohesperidin content, whereas pomace dried under vacuum at 70 °C had the highest rutin and p‐coumaric acid content. The highest gallic acid content was recorded in the pomace dried by hot air at 110 °C. The results of this study indicate that drying technique should be carefully selected according to the bioactive compounds aimed to be extracted.     

Effects of vacuum and microwave freeze drying on microstructure and quality of potato slices

Potato slices immersed in 0.5% CaCl₂ solution for 10 min were examined using light microscopy for their microstructure in frozen state before drying, during the sublimation drying stage, in the desorption drying stage and in the final dried form. Additionally, the final dried product was also tested for vitamin C content, color, starch content, texture and sugar content. Experiments were carried out using conventional vacuum freeze dryer as well as a microwave freeze dryer. Results for both unblanched and blanched potato tissues, crystal growth during sublimation drying stage was observed to cause structural damage to the cell walls. Blanched tissue suffered more damage during the freezing process. Interestingly, microwave freeze drying yielded product similar in quality to that obtained in vacuum freeze drying with conductive heating.     

Radical scavenging and anti‐proliferative capacity of three freeze‐dried tropical fruits

Tropical fruits are rich in antioxidant and anticancer phytochemicals, but their nutraceutical potential could be enhanced by drying technologies. Mango cv. Ataulfo, papaya cv. Maradol and pineapple cv. Esmeralda ripe pulps were freeze‐dried (?42 °C, 0.12 torr, 48 h) and their physicochemical and phytochemical profile, radical scavenging and antiproliferative capacity evaluated. The content of soluble solids, phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid was higher in mango (16.1^oBrix, 9.9 mg GAE per g and 9.6 mg g^?1) than in papaya/pineapple, but the later had more flavonoids (0.45 ± 0.05 mg QE per g). A fruit‐specific phenolic profile was detected by HPLC‐ESI‐QTOF‐MS, being shikimic (mango), chlorogenic (papaya), and protocatechuic (pineapple) acids the most abundant. Mango was the strongest radical scavenger and showed antiproliferative capacity (IC₅₀, μg mL^?1) in RAW 264.7 (100.7), HeLa (193.1) and L929 (138.5) cell lines. Papaya and pineapple extracts showed no antiproliferative activity. Freeze‐dried mango is a ready‐to‐eat functional food with better cancer preventing properties than papaya or pineapple.     

Preparation of High‐Grade Powders from Tomato Paste Using a Vacuum Foam Drying Method

We present a rapid and gentle drying method for the production of high‐grade tomato powders from double concentrated tomato paste, comparing results with powders obtained by foam mat air drying and freeze dried powders. The principle of this method consists of drying tomato paste in foamed state at low temperatures in vacuum. The formulations were dried at temperatures of 50, 60, and 70 °C and vacuum of 200 mbar. Foam stability was affected by low serum viscosity and the presence of solid particles in tomato paste. Consequently, serum viscosity was increased by maltodextrin addition, yielding optimum stability at tomato paste:maltodextrin ratio of 2.4:1 (w/w) in dry matter. Material foamability was improved by addition of 0.5% (w/w, fresh weight) egg white. Because of solid particles in tomato paste, foam air filling had to be limited to critical air volume fraction of Φ = 0.7. The paste was first pre‐foamed to Φ = 0.2 and subsequently expanded in vacuo. After drying to a moisture content of 5.6% to 7.5% wet base (w.b.), the materials obtained were in glassy state. Qualities of the resulting powders were compared with those produced by freeze and air drying. Total color changes were the least after vacuum drying, whereas air drying resulted in noticeable color changes. Vacuum foam drying at 50 °C led to insignificant carotenoid losses, being equivalent to the time‐consuming freeze drying method. In contrast, air drying caused lycopene and β‐carotene losses of 18% to 33% and 14% to 19% respectively. Thus, vacuum foam drying enables production of high‐grade tomato powders being qualitatively similar to powders obtained by freeze drying.     

Development of ready‐to‐eat rice starch‐based puffed products by coupling freeze‐drying and microwave

The rice starch mixtures with varying amylose contents (AC) of 0.12–19.00% weight were prepared by mixing waxy and nonwaxy rice starches. The 5% rice bran oil shortening was added in the starch paste. After gelatinisation, thin slabs of starch pastes were aged at 4 °C for 24 h. The aged slabs were dried by freeze‐drying to obtain 25% moisture content. A microwave oven set to 600 J s^?1 for 90 s was then used for puffing. The crucial factors affecting the snack purchase were texture and nutrition. The relative crystallinity and retrogradation enthalpy (?H_r) of freeze‐dried pellets increased with increasing the AC. From using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), endotherms of pellets were shown only when AC > 0.12%. An amylose–lipid complex was shown in pellets with AC ≥ 9.00%. Relationships between the AC and all puffed product properties were linear. Increasing AC provided greater hardness, fracturability, bulk density, but lower expansion ratio. From the sensory evaluation, the panellists preferred the puffed products with 9.00% AC. Increasing the AC gave higher crispness, hardness, brittleness, air cell opacity and density, but resulted in less puffiness. Thus, the microwave drying has the potential to puff a healthy expanded snack but giving the desirable properties depends on AC.     

Process optimisation of the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) concentrated juice preparation for a freeze‐dried powder

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), a commonly consumed vegetable in South Asia, eastern‐South Asia, China, Japan, Korea peninsula, Caribbean Sea isles etc., is used as an adjunct in the management of diabetes mellitus. In this study, in order to find the effective ways of producing bitter gourd freeze‐dried powder, the concentrated juice of bitter gourd was produced through enzymatic process (EP), ultra filtration (UF), reverse osmosis and vacuum concentration technology. Results indicated that total saponins, total sugar and pH value in bitter gourd juice were almost unchanged after EP and after UF (P ≥ 0.05). However, UF decreased the turbidity and improved transmittance of juice (P < 0.05). When compared with the vacuum concentration alone, the combined process of reverse osmosis followed by vacuum concentration had 3.33 folds of production efficiency and 1.725 times of vitamin C content in concentrated juice. With freeze‐drying microscope system, the eutectic point of the freeze‐dried product of bitter gourd juice was detected to be ?37.5 °C, which was important to optimise lyophilisation parameters. The freeze‐drying microscope system was more accurate than the conventional electric resistance method in detecting the eutectic point of freeze‐dried product.     

Studies on different combined microwave drying of carrot pieces

Three different combined microwave (MW) drying methods were compared, namely microwave‐assisted vacuum drying (MWVD), microwave‐assisted freeze drying (MWFD), microwave‐enhanced spouted bed drying (MWSD), in terms of drying rate, drying uniformity, product colour, rehydration ratio, retention of β‐carotene and vitamin C, and energy consumption. The drying rate of MWVD and MWSD were much faster than that of MWFD. The largest drying rate was obtained in MWSD with 3.5 W g^?1. In general, the colour of MWSD products was very uniform. Rehydration ratio of MWFD carrot pieces was almost the same as the freeze‐dried (FD) products and better than MWVD and MWSD products. In addition, the highest retention of carotene and vitamin C was observed in MWFD carrot pieces. No significant differences were observed in carotene and vitamin C between MWVD and MWSD products. However, the energy consumption in MWFD was the highest.     

干燥方式对酥脆香菇品质的影响

以香菇为原料,采用真空油炸、常压油炸、冷冻干燥、微波干燥、热风干燥和微波-真空油炸-热风联合干燥6种方式制成酥脆香菇,研究干燥方式对其品质的影响。结果表明：真空油炸香菇的酥脆性和内部的孔洞较大,组织形态、香气和滋味较好,但色泽较暗;冷冻干燥香菇的体积收缩率最小,内部有较多且均匀的孔洞,其感官品质最好;联合干燥香菇的酥脆性最大,体积收缩较真空油炸严重,感官品质仅次于冷冻干燥;常压油炸香菇的香气较好,但组织形态、色泽和酥脆性较差,脂肪含量高;微波干燥和热风干燥香菇的内部结构致密,酥脆性差,体积收缩最严重,感官品质差。以真空油炸和冷冻干燥香菇的综合品质最好。     

Microwave irradiation enhances the in vitro antifungal activity of citrus by‐product aqueous extracts against Alternaria alternata

The effect of two lemon by‐product aqueous extracts at different concentrations (14, 7, 3.5 and 1 mg mL^?1) was tested against the in vitro growth of Alternaria alternata. Prior to extraction, one batch of by‐product was dehydrated by freeze‐drying (untreated by‐product), while the other batch was treated by microwave irradiation in conjunction with freeze‐drying (microwave‐treated by‐product). High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for the identification of individual phenolic compounds with potent antifungal activities. Both lemon by‐product aqueous extracts inhibited the mycelial growth and suppressed the spore germination of the fungus in a concentration‐dependent manner. In general, the extracts obtained from the microwave‐treated lemon by‐product displayed enhanced antifungal activity than those obtained from the untreated one. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that both lemon by‐product extracts affected the hyphal morphology of the fungus. The antifungal activity of the extracts was attributed to their phenolic acid and ascorbic acid contents.     

EFFECTS OF DRYING ON THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF HERBAL TEA FROM SELECTED VITEX SPECIES

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the effects of three thermal drying methods (microwave‐, oven‐ and sun‐drying) and one nonthermal drying method (freeze‐drying) on the AOP of leaves of Vitex negundo and Vitex trifolia, which are consumed traditionally as herbal tea. Microwave‐drying and freeze‐drying were found to be able to maintain the AOP of the leaves but oven‐drying and sun‐drying resulted in deterioration of AOP. Microwave‐drying has the advantage of short drying time and low water activity. AOP of Vitex herbal tea leaves that are microwave‐dried and freeze‐dried were not affected by storage up to 30 days.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Tea, one of the most widely consumed beverages apart from water, has long been known for its health‐promoting benefits in terms of its antioxidant properties due to its high phenolic content. Much of such studies, however, focus on green tea (Camellia sinensis). Although V. negundo and V. trifolia have been consumed traditionally as herbal tea, understanding of its antioxidant properties remains scarce. Drying serves as a vital part of tea processing, affecting its antioxidant content and appearance which in turn affects the commercial value of the tea. This study therefore serves as an important work in providing insights into the antioxidant properties of Vitex species and the best drying method of its leaves as herbal tea for commercial purpose. In addition, this study also provides insights into the effect of different drying methods on the storage of the leaves which is of value to the tea processing industry.     

Comparison of three microwave‐assisted drying methods on the physiochemical,nutritional and sensory qualities of re‐structured purple‐fleshed sweet potato granules

Purple‐fleshed sweet potato (PFSP) with high anthocyanin level was attractive to health concern. Three drying methods, namely microwave‐assisted freeze‐drying (MWFD), microwave‐assisted vacuum drying (MWVD) and microwave‐assisted spouted bed drying (MWSBD), were compared in the drying of PFSP granules. Product’s texture, colour, anthocyanin level and energy consumption were investigated. Drying periods varied among drying methods. MWSBD needed the least time to finish the drying process. Different drying methods had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on texture and anthocyanin level. Maximum penetration force of MWSBD treated sample was lowest (14.99 N). Anthocyanin level of MWSBD products was not as high as that of MWFD products, but colour and appearance were fine. MWFD products owned good crispness through sensory evaluation. Energy consumption of MWFD was about two times higher than that of MWVD. Final results indicated that MWSBD may be an alternative way to MWFD with measurements to maintain the anthocyanin level.     

ACCELERATED STORAGE TESTING OF FREEZE-DRIED IMMOBILIZED LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS-FERMENTED BANANA MEDIA

ABSTRACT

Freeze‐drying was applied as a drying method for the production of dehydrated immobilized Lactobacillus acidophilus‐fermented banana medium containing high levels of probiotics and appropriate prebiotic (mainly fructooligosaccharides) contents in an attempt to develop dried synbiotic products. Ca‐alginate and κ‐carrageenan were used for the immobilization of L. acidophilus, and the immobilized bacteria were employed directly in the banana media fermentation. The fermented products were then freeze‐dried. Results indicated that cell immobilization could provide effective protection to L. acidophilus, and reduce the damage caused by freezing and freeze‐drying. Meanwhile, accelerated storage testing using temperatures of 50, 60 and 70C was applied to the dehydrated products. Gel‐entrapped L. acidophilus appeared to have lower decimal reduction, and Ca‐alginate immobilized cells had a better survival than κ‐carrageenan. Results of accelerated storage test showed that immobilization could effectively increase the thermal resistance of entrapped microorganisms, and Ca‐alginate showed a better effect than κ‐carrageenan, and the beneficial effects increased with the decrease of the storage temperature. The freeze‐dried products exhibited little hygroscopicity because of the consumption of monosaccharides during fermentation. Results revealed that freeze‐drying could be used as a proper method for the development of dried product of immobilized L. acidophilus‐fermented banana media, and accelerated storage test could be used to evaluate the storage stability of the dried products.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This research demonstrates the feasibility of the application of accelerated storage testing to the prediction of shelf life and storage stability of freeze‐dried probiotic products manufactured by lactic acid bacteria fermentation. The Arrhenius equation was associated in this study. This will provide an efficient approach for the estimation of shelf life of probiotic products.

     

Optimization of Dehydration of Lactobacillus salivarius Using Radiant Energy Vacuum

Radiant energy under vacuum (REV) as a rapid dehydration method was employed to dehydrate Lactobacillus salivarius 417 along with different concentrations of skim milk powder as protective medium. Two optimization methods: response surface methodology and random centroid analysis (RCO) were applied and compared to optimize the dehydration parameters for maximum viability—microwave power, absolute pressure in the drying chamber, and protective agent concentration. The study showed that both methods were suitable for the process optimization. Microwave power, concentration of skim milk powder, and absolute pressure had a significant effect on final viability while the speed of sample rotation in vertical axis had no effect (P < 0.05). The result also indicated that a microwave power of <250 W, 10–15% concentration of skim milk powder, and <1 mmHg absolute pressure was needed to achieve viability of equal or greater than 80% in L. salivarius. The RCO-optimized REV process yielded higher viability than the reference freeze drying method and was completed in less than an hour as compared to 64 h for freeze drying.     

Physicochemical properties and storage stability of spray‐dried soya bean sprout extract

Amylase is a very important enzyme due to its wide food applications. To preserve amylase activity in soya bean sprout extract (SSE), SSEs were spray‐dried with 10% maltodextrin and 0–3% alginic acids, and their physicochemical properties and storage stability were compared with freeze‐dried one. SSE exhibited maximum amylase activity at pH 7.0 and 60 °C, with the most active substrate specificity towards soluble starch. Spray‐dried SSEs exhibited higher water solubility index (WSI) and in vitro relative amylase activity but lower water vapour sorption (WVS) and smaller particle size than freeze‐dried SSE. For spray‐dried SSEs, particle size, WSI and in vitro relative amylase activity increased while WVS decreased with increasing % alginic acid. This study demonstrated that spray drying of SSE, especially with 10% maltodextrin and 2% alginic acid, was effective in keeping amylase active and stable during 7‐week storage at room temperature (25 °C).     

A novel dielectric drying method of sea cucumber

The sea cucumber autolyses readily so it must be dehydrated for preservation. Traditional drying methods of sea cucumber need very long time and have adverse effect on quality. Hence, a novel microwave freeze drying technique was developed to dry sea cucumber. Because microwave heating is a function of dielectric properties of the material in microwave field, dielectric properties of sea cucumber were determined. As expected, the dielectric loss factor of sea cucumbers was very low in frozen state, and several pretreatments (nanoscale calcium carbonate impregnation and vacuum impregnation, salt impregnation, etc.) were analysed to improve the dielectric properties of sea cucumber. Vacuum impregnation with nanoscale calcium carbonate combined with microwave freeze drying was found to be an efficient drying method for sea cucumber by anova (P < 0.01). Compared with microwave freeze drying method without any treatments, this drying method could reduce the drying time by up to two hours.     

Effect of microwave vacuum drying and hot air drying on the physicochemical properties of durian flour

Unripe durian cv. Monthong was subjected to microwave vacuum drying (MVD) at 1200, 1600 and 2200 W and hot air drying (HAD) at 40, 50 and 60 °C to produce durian flour. Drying rate of MVD and HAD was 0.34–0.58 kg water kg dry solid^?1 min^?1 and 0.02–0.06 kg water kg dry solid^?1 min^?1, respectively. An increase in drying rate by either increasing hot air temperature or increasing microwave power decreased the degree of crystallinity from 21.95% to 2.31% and from 7.72% to 4.05%, respectively. Moreover, the increased drying rate caused a decrease in endothermic enthalpy (ΔH_gel) and pasting properties. Starch content of the durian flour was 41.40–47.03%. The starch granule morphology of durian flour was disrupted which indicated gelatinisation of flour during drying. Due to a short drying process, the MVD flour had less a*‐value (P ≤ 0.05) than the HAD flour.     

The effect of osmosis pretreatment on hot‐air drying and microwave drying characteristics of chili (Capsicum annuum L.) flesh

Chili flesh pretreated with or without osmotic dehydration (OD) was dried in the hot‐air drying (AD) oven at 50–80 °C or in the microwave drying (MD) oven at 60–180 W. Results showed that the samples osmotically treated in mixed solution (10% salt + 50% sucrose) had the best dehydration effect as compared with single salt or sugar solutions. During the drying process, osmotically treated samples had one falling‐rate period and their effective moisture diffusivities (D_eff) showed a rapidly linear increase with the decrease in moisture content, while directly drying samples showed a three‐phase falling‐rate period and their D_eff increased gradually at the initial period and then rapidly at the final period. When the moisture content decreased, the activation energy increased gradually; however, for AD after OD, it decreased. Among all the processes, MD at 60 W after OD presented the largest vitamin C retention rate and the best colour difference, needing less drying time.     

Effect of different freeze drying cycle in Semimembranous and Gluteus Medius bovine muscles: changes on microstructure,colour, texture and physicochemical parameters

The aim of the present research was to evaluate effects of freeze drying cycle in Semimembranous and Gluteus Medius bovine muscles (sp: Aberdeen Angus) for instant meal. Samples were analysed by Scanning electron microscopy; texture and colour parameters were analysed by image analysis and physicochemical properties by instrumental assays. Micrographs revealed that a higher porous size structure and shrinkage of muscle fibre diameter were obtained at ?40 °C. In Semimembranous and Gluteus Medius bovine muscles, significant difference (P < 0.0001) was obtained for texture, colour and physicochemical parameters. Results revealed that colour, texture and physicochemical parameters were less affected when freeze drying cycle was performed at ?40 °C. Freeze drying cycle at ?50 and ?60 °C showed increases in lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*); decrease in redness (a*) and in water absorbing capability).     

Formulation of Protective Agents for Improvement of Lactobacillus salivarius I 24 Survival Rate Subjected to Freeze Drying for Production of Live Cells in Powderized Form

The effectiveness of formulations using different protective agents to maintain viability of Lactobacillus salivarius I 24 during freeze drying for production of live cell in powdered form was investigated. The influence of prefreezing and cultivation conditions on viability of cells after freeze drying was also studied. Surface methodology was used to determine the most suitable combination of the protective agents. Concentrations of skim milk, sucrose, glycerol, and calcium carbonate were selected as operating variables, and survivals of cultures after freeze drying were used as results. Skim milk and sucrose were better protective agents than glycerol and calcium carbonate when used individually for preserving L. salivarius I 24 during freeze drying. Their protective abilities could be enhanced significantly when using them as a mixture (9.85% w/v skim milk and 10.65% w/v sucrose). Prefreezing of the cells at −80°C for 5 h prior to freeze drying and cultivation with regulated pH and temperature gave the highest cell viability.