Study on Drying Characteristics of Guava Leaves

Abstract

Psidium guajava L., popularly known as Guava belonging to Myrtle family is grown in tropical and subtropical climatic regions. Guava leaves has been used as medicine for various health benefits in several countries. In the present investigation, the efforts have been made to prepare the powder of Guava Leaves by applying different drying technique viz. Tray drying, Vacuum drying and Hot air oven drying. The drying was done at different temperatures 50°C, 60°C and 70°C. At a temperature, the Vacuum dryer took maximum time for complete drying of Guava leaves followed by Hot air oven and Tray dryer. Maximum moisture content was removed from fresh Guava leaves using Tray dryer whereas for the other dryers it varied with temperature. As temperature increased from 50°C to 70°C, the drying rate increased and hence the removal of moisture. The studies indicated that Tray drying was faster and effective in the removal of moisture.