Microwave drying of basil (Ocimum sanctum) leaves with chitosan coating pretreatment: Bibliometric analysis and optimization

This study optimized microwave drying of Ocimum sanctum (basil) leaves with chitosan coating pretreatment to improve drying efficiency and environmental impact. A bibliometric analysis revealed limited research on microwave-assisted drying methods combined with pretreatments. Using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) within the Response Surface Methodology (RSM), the study evaluated the effects of drying time, microwave power, basil leaf mass, and chitosan concentration. Results showed that the optimum drying parameters were: drying time of 240 s, microwave power of 264.03 W, basil leaf mass of 14.36 g, and chitosan concentration of 1.39 %. Under these conditions, the moisture removal efficiency reached 61.6184 %, with relative energy consumption of 0.9698 kWh g^-1 and CO₂ emissions of 0.7758 kg g^-1. The findings demonstrate that microwave drying with chitosan coating reduces energy consumption and environmental emissions while maintaining product quality.