Kinetic Modeling of Convective and Microwave Drying of Potato Peels and Their Effects on Antioxidant Content and Capacity

This study deals with drying properties and focuses on the drying kinetics of potato peels (PP) by two processes, namely convection drying (CD) at various temperatures (40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 °C) and microwave drying (MD) at different powers (200, 400, 600, and 800 W). In addition, the effectiveness of the adopted processes was evaluated in terms of antioxidant contents and antioxidant capacity. A total of 22 mathematical models were undertaken to predict the drying kinetics, and the best model was selected based on the highest R2 values and the lowest χ2 and RMSE values. The Sledz model was the more appropriate for both methods with values of 0.9995 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.9999, χ2 = 0.0000, and 0.0054 ≤ RMSE ≤ 0.0030 for CD, and the results of MD were 0.9829 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.9997, 0.0000 ≤ χ2 ≤ 0.0010, and 0.0304 ≤ RMSE ≤ 0.0053. The best drying rates (DR) of PP were assigned to a temperature of 120 °C and a power of 600 W with values of 0.05 and 0.20 kg water/kg dw min, respectively. A potential explanation is that as PP’s moisture content decreased during the drying process, there was a drop in absorption, which led to a reduction in the DR. The energy consumption of both processes was assessed, and it rose with increasing temperature or power. The microwave process reduced the drying time, consumed lower energy, and presented a higher drying efficiency at a moderate power level compared to the convection process. Furthermore, MD preserved antioxidants better compared to CD and improved the antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the proposed microwave process for drying PP is suggested for its expected use in various fields, including the food processing industries.Depto. de Producción AnimalFac. de VeterinariaTRUEpu

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity are differentially affected by drying processes in celery, coriander and parsley leaves

Convective drying (CO) is the most common technique for drying herbs, although it may diminish phenolic compounds content. Microwave drying (MW) has been suggested as an alternative, although its effects on phenolic compounds remain to be explored. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of different convective temperatures (40, 80 and 120 °C) and microwave powers (100, 500 and 1000 W) on drying time, polyphenols classes (HPLC-DAD) and antioxidant capacity in celery, coriander and parsley leaves. Microwave procedure reduced drying time (MW: 3 h–7 min; CO: 25–1.5 h) resulting more effective than CO. Increasing temperatures led to an initial decrease in total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity followed by an increase, potentially by the release of bound phenolic acids. Regarding MW, the highest polyphenol content was generally observed at 500 W, probably due to the hydroxycinnamic acid's rise. Antioxidant capacity was similar at 500 and 1000 W. There was a good agreement between TPC and antioxidant capacity. Consequently, MW seems a good alternative to reduce drying time. However, the maintenance or improvement of phenolic activity depends on the food matrix. Indeed, the best drying system and conditions to preserve phenolic compounds were variable depending on the herb type: celery (CO at 40 °C), coriander (both CO at 40 °C and MW at 500 W) and parsley (MW at 100 W).We wish to acknowledge the General Direction of research and development technologies (DGRSDT)/Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS) of Algeria for covering Khokha Mouhoubi stay in Madrid. Anastasia Palatzidi was the recipient of an EIT Food RIS Fellowship 2019 – funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union.Peer reviewe