INFLUENCE OF DRYING TEMPERATURE AND TIME ON QUALITY OF DRIED DRAGON FRUIT PEEL

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effects of drying temperature and time on quality of dried dragon fruit peel. The experiment was arranged with 02 factors (the drying temperatures of 45oC, 50oC, 55oC, 60oC and drying time of 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours), 04 levels and  03 repetitions. The evaluated criteria include: moisture, total polyphenol content, anthocyanin, antioxidant activity, and sensory evaluation of the product. The results showed that at 50oC for 3 hours, polyphenols total content was 2578 mgGAE/100g dry matter, antioxidant activity was 29.76%, anthocyanin content 0.46%, high Sensory evaluation scores for colour (5.80), flavour (5.87), taste (6.17) and texture (6.22).