Modification and evaluation of indirect type solar dryer for bitter gourd slices (Momordica charantia L.)
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Date
2019
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
The present study was conducted to modify the drying cabinet of indirect type solar dryer and
evaluate its performance for drying of bitter gourd slices. Drying cabinet was modified with
skewers on rack arrangement for proper air circulation over the samples and better
maneuvering of samples during drying. Modified drying cabinet was evaluated in comparison
to existing drying cabinet having trays for bitter gourd slices. The drying experiments were
conducted to evaluate the effect of different process parameters viz., pretreatment, loading,
drying method on the drying behavior and quality of dried bitter gourd slices. The quality
parameters viz., total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, total chlorophyll content,
antioxidant capacity, colour (L, a, b, ΔE), ascorbic acid content, shrinkage, rehydration
characteristics (rehydration ratio, coefficient of rehydration and percent water in the
rehydrated sample) and hardness were studied. The final moisture content of the solar dried
bitter gourd slices was in the range 6.84-8.27% wb. The dried product obtained using
modified drying cabinet was of better quality as compared to existing drying cabinet of
indirect type solar dryer and open sun drying. The average values for total phenolic content,
total flavonoid content, total chlorophyll content, ascorbic acid content and antioxidant
capacity for best sample dried using modified drying cabinet of indirect type solar dryer were
0.227, 0.032, 0.248, 1.26 mg/g dw and 72.90 % respectively. The dried bitter gourd samples
were stored in different packaging materials (LDPE, LAF and vacuum) and the storage
quality of dried bitter gourd slices was also studied at regular intervals. The quality attributes
of dried bitter gourd slices were affected during storage in different packaging materials. The
vacuum sealed pouches for storage of dried bitter gourd slices were found to be best on the
basis of quality retention. The quality data obtained for various dried samples was statistically
analyzed by using completely randomized design and the quality data obtained during storage
experiment was analyzed by factorial completely randomized design using statistical software
SAS 9.3. The quality parameters were significantly (p<0.0001) affected by the drying
method, pretreatment, loading, packaging material and storage period.
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