Articles
Oven drying as a preservative process of two cultivars of cactus pear fruits (Opuntia ficus-indica)
Article number
1452_36
Pages
271 – 278
Language
English
Abstract
Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (OFI) is a species of cactus that grows in arid and semi-arid areas.
Its fruits, known as cactus pears, are part of the diet in several countries due to its richness in nutrients, containing various compounds with beneficial effect for human health.
After harvest, cactus pears present a relative short shelf-life time.
Drying is a processing option to help preserving the fruit and increase its shelf-life, keeping it available for longer periods.
Thus, this work aimed to study the effect of the drying process on the composition of two cultivars of cactus pear.
Three temperatures were tested, 50, 60, 70°C. Drying the cactus pears at 60°C demonstrated to have fewer damaging effects, with less changes observed on the fruit’s chemical profile.
In terms of phenolic content and antioxidant activity, cactus pears dried at 60°C showed better or similar to the ones dried at 50 and 70°C. Therefore, this temperature was chosen to dry sliced OFI fruits from two different cultivars (orange and red), with or without peels.
During the storage period the dried fruits lost some of their antioxidant activity, but maintained stable throughout this period, in microbiological terms.
The drying process is presented as a low budget technology, accessible and able to promote the increment of the shelf-life of this perishable fruit, while also enabling their potential application for flour production.
Its fruits, known as cactus pears, are part of the diet in several countries due to its richness in nutrients, containing various compounds with beneficial effect for human health.
After harvest, cactus pears present a relative short shelf-life time.
Drying is a processing option to help preserving the fruit and increase its shelf-life, keeping it available for longer periods.
Thus, this work aimed to study the effect of the drying process on the composition of two cultivars of cactus pear.
Three temperatures were tested, 50, 60, 70°C. Drying the cactus pears at 60°C demonstrated to have fewer damaging effects, with less changes observed on the fruit’s chemical profile.
In terms of phenolic content and antioxidant activity, cactus pears dried at 60°C showed better or similar to the ones dried at 50 and 70°C. Therefore, this temperature was chosen to dry sliced OFI fruits from two different cultivars (orange and red), with or without peels.
During the storage period the dried fruits lost some of their antioxidant activity, but maintained stable throughout this period, in microbiological terms.
The drying process is presented as a low budget technology, accessible and able to promote the increment of the shelf-life of this perishable fruit, while also enabling their potential application for flour production.
Authors
G. Semedo, C. Rodrigues, A.L. Fernando, V.G.L. Souza
Keywords
drying kinetics, bioactive characterization, food preservation, shelf-life
Groups involved
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