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Drying of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) Berry: Impact of

Dehydration Methods on Kinetics and Quality

Article in Drying Technology · March 2011

DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2010.497590

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 Drying Technology, 29: 351–359, 2011
Copyright # 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0737-3937 print=1532-2300 online
DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2010.497590

Drying of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) Berry:

Impact of Dehydration Methods on Kinetics and Quality
Monica Araya-Farias,1 Joseph Makhlouf,2 and Cristina Ratti1
1
Soils and Agri-Food Engineering Department, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada
2
Food Science and Nutrition Department, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada

the water loss, most are detrimental to the final product’s

Convective hot air drying and freeze drying were investigated as bioactive and sensorial qualities. Thus, the development
potential dehydration processes to obtain powders of seabuckthorn of an efficient and appropriate drying process to obtain
fruit pulp. Halved seabuckthorn fruits were placed in a hot air dryer seabuckthorn functional powders is required.
and dried at 1 m/s and at 50 or 60! C or freeze dried at less than A functional powder can be defined as a dry solid in the
30 mTorr and at 20 or 50! C shelf plate temperature. An initial
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characterization of the seabuckthorn pulp (moisture, pH, soluble form of tiny, loose particles designed to provide a specific
solid content, vitamins C and E, total phenolics, and carotenoids) and beneficial physiological effect on health, performance,
was performed. Water loss, total phenolic compounds, total carote- and=or well-being extending beyond the provision of sim-
noids, and vitamin C were determined at different processing times. ple nutrients. The main processes involved in functional
Vitamin E was determined before and at the end of drying. powder production are thus drying and grinding. Air
Freeze-drying kinetics were faster than air drying, probably due
to lower moisture diffusion in the compact, sugary, and oily struc- drying is a traditional method of food conservation that
ture of the air-dried tissue. The temperature had an important provides an extension of shelf life and lighter weight for
impact on hot air–drying and freeze-drying kinetics. Drying method transportation and requires less storage space. This method
and processing times affected the remaining phenolic, carotenoid, has been thoroughly applied to dry fruits and pieced food-
and vitamin contents of seabuckthorn berries. Freeze drying was stuffs.[4] However, it is well known that the quality of a
revealed as a superior method to obtain seabuckthorn powders
because of the lower residual moisture content, the ease of grinding, foodstuff is negatively affected by the air-drying processes
as well as the better nutritional retention. particular parameters, such as high temperatures and the
presence of oxygen. Air drying can cause dramatic changes
Keywords Freeze drying; Hot air drying; Powders; Seabuckthorn in the physical properties of the product (i.e., color and
structure), as well as deterioration of aromatic compounds
or degradation of nutritional substances, inevitably reduc-
INTRODUCTION ing the product quality. Air drying is, however, one of the
Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries less costly in terms of energy consumption and equipment
contain high amounts of natural antioxidants and provision when compared to other dehydration processes
medicinal compounds including ascorbic acid, carotenoids, (i.e., spray drying, freeze drying, etc.).
flavonoids, as well as essential fatty acids.[1,2] However, Freeze drying is based on dehydration by sublimation of
seabuckthorn berries are delicate and, if not properly pro- a frozen product. Compared to hot air drying, freeze
cessed, they have a short shelf life. Transforming these drying can yield high-quality products because most of
fruits into powders may not only preserve them for longer the deterioration reactions are slowed down or practically
times but also concentrate their already high nutritional stopped (i.e., minimization of flavor and aroma losses,
values. One potential problem with dehydration of maximization of nutrient retention, porous structure) due
seabuckthorn fruits is, however, their waxy impermeable to the absence of liquid water, the absence of oxygen under
skin, which impedes moisture loss. Several pretreatment vacuum, and the use of low temperatures. Nevertheless, its
methods (chemical, mechanical, and thermal) have been production cost is approximately eight and four times
previously used to overcome this water barrier during dry- higher than conventional air drying and spray drying,
ing of different fruits such as blueberries and cranberries.[3] respectively.[5] Thus, the high cost of operation associated
However, although these methods are efficient in increasing with freeze drying restricts its usage to high-value products
(i.e., coffee).
Correspondence: Cristina Ratti, Soils and Agri-Food Oxygen, high temperature, and cell damage are usually
Engineering Department, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, seen as enemies of nutritional retention during processing.
G1V OA6, Canada; E-mail: [email protected]

351
 352 ARAYA-FARIAS ET AL.

The stability of the valuable bioactive compounds of Airflow Development Ltd., Andover, NJ) and T-type
seabuckthorn fruit can therefore be affected during thermocouples (Omega Engineering Inc., Laval, Quebec,
dehydration. Phenolic compounds could be susceptible to Canada), respectively. Seabuckthorn samples were also
enzymatic degradation during air drying due to the poly- freeze dried in a laboratory freeze dryer (Freezemobile
phenol oxydase activity.[6] In addition, carotenoids have a 25 L, VirTis Company, Gardiner, NY) at constant heating
highly unsaturated nature, making them susceptible to plate temperatures (20 and 50" C) and under less than
degradation by oxidation and thermal processes. Oxidation 30 mTorr. Drying curves were obtained by periodic weigh-
is the major cause of carotenoids degradation and can be ing of seabuckthorn samples at different processing times:
generally considered autocatalytic, beginning only after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 15 h. Dried seabuckthorn fruits were stored
an induction period in which radicals are built up and immediately after hot air or freeze drying in desiccators in
antioxidants are depleted.[7] Also, the loss of vitamin C the presence of P2O5 for further analysis. The moisture con-
and carotenoids is affected particularly by the temperature tent, vitamin C, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds of
and the moisture content during drying processes.[8] the dried samples were determined as a function of drying
Vitamin C is usually selected as an index of the nutrient time. Vitamin E was determined before and after 15 h of
quality due to its labile nature compared to other nutrients air and freeze drying. The experimental design was com-
in foods.[9] It is generally observed that, if ascorbic acid is pletely randomized with two repetitions.
well retained, other nutrients will be as well. A few interest-
ing reviews on the impact of drying methods and operating Sorption Isotherm
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conditions on functional quality retention can be found in Freeze-dried and convective-dried samples (approxi-
the literature.[10,11] mately 300 mg) were placed over saturated salt solutions
In order to maintain the exceptional functional proper- (LiCl, NaCl, NaBr, KCl, MgCl2, CH3COOK) in desicca-
ties of the fruit, a seabuckthorn powder should be obtained tors at constant temperature (20" C) until equilibrium was
from a premium quality dehydrated product, with a moist- reached.[12]
ure content of 2–3% and maximum nutritional content
after drying. The main objective of this study was thus to Physicochemical Analysis
investigate the effect of convective hot air drying and freeze Moisture content was calculated using values of
drying as methods to obtain high-quality dried seabuck- dried mass determined by the vacuum oven method.[13]
thorn pulp. Loss of vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and Seabuckthorn samples were placed in a vacuum oven in
phenolic compounds was measured to test the effect of the presence of P2O5 as desiccant. The oven temperature
drying methods on the nutritional characteristics of was 50" C with a gauge pressure of 25 mmHg. The samples
seabuckthorn berries. To complete this work, a sorption were kept for 48 h and then taken out of the oven, cooled in
isotherm of air- and freeze-dried powders was determined a desiccator at room temperature, and weighed using a
at ambient temperature. balance (model AB104-S, Mettler Toledo, Greinfesee,
Switzerland) with a sensitivity of 0.001 g.
MATERIAL AND METHODS Fruits were evaluated for acidity according to the
method described by Tang and Tigerstedt.[14] The frozen
Material Preparation
fruits (40 g) were manually cut into halves and the grains
Seabuckthorn fruits (var. Indian Summer) manually
were removed. The fruits were homogenized with 100 mL
harvested in a farm located in Ste-Anne de Beaupré
of water using an Ultra-Turrax (Wilmington, NC) homo-
(Québec, Canada) were used in this project. The fruits were
genizer. The homogenate was diluted to 300 mL and boiled
frozen at !18" C immediately after harvesting. The initial
for 30 min. After cooling, the homogenate was made up to
moisture, pH, " Brix, titratable acidity, vitamins C and E,
300 mL by adding water and then filtered (Whatman No. 1
carotenoids, and phenolic contents were determined. For
filter papers, Florham Park, NJ). The filtered aliquot
the drying experiments, frozen fruits were manually cut
(10 mL) was used for further analysis. Titratable acidity
into halves and their grains were removed. The halved
was determined by titration with 0.1 N NaOH solution
fruits were put in trays in a single layer of approximately
up to the end point of phenolphthalein. It was expressed
4 mm thickness.
as percentage of malic acid.
For soluble solid content (" Brix) and pH determina-
Drying Experiments tions, frozen fruits (25 g) were manually cut in halves and
Seabuckthorn samples were dried in a laboratory hot the grains were removed. The fruits were crushed and
air tray dryer (Model UOP8-G, Armfield, Hampshire, homogenized for 5 min (until a homogeneous juice was
England) under constant conditions of 50 and 60" C and obtained) using an Ultra-Turrax homogenizer. The juice
1 m=s air velocity. Air speed and temperature were mea- obtained was then filtered (Whatman No. 1 filter papers).
sured continuously using an anemometer (LCA 6000, The filtered aliquots were used for pH and " Brix analysis.
 DRYING OF SEABUCKTHORN BERRY 353

The soluble solid content (! Brix) was determined using a dividing the concentration after processing (c) over the
digital refractometer (model AR 200, Reichert Inc., initial compound concentration (co). Each physicochemical
Depew, NY) and for pH determination, a pH meter (model analysis was carried out in duplicate for each replication.
SP20, VWR Symphony, Thermo Orion, West Chester, PA)
was used. Mathematical Representation
Preparation and determination of carotenoids and phe- Drying Kinetics
nolic compounds were done according to the method Simplified drying models have been used in the literature
described by Gao et al.[15] with slight modifications. For to quantify the drying kinetics of various vegetables, fruits,
carotenoids, a 1 mL aliquot from lipophilic extract was and grains.[18–20] In this study, experimental data were fit-
diluted with 4 mL of hexane and measured at 460 nm using ted to Page’s equation, which is an empirical modification
a spectrophotometer (model 8451A, Hewlett-Packard, Palo of an exponential model:
Alto, CA). Quantification was carried out with a calibration
curve obtained with a b-carotene standard (Fluka Biochem- X $ Xe
M¼ ¼ exp ð$k tn Þ ð1Þ
ika, Milwaukee, WI) diluted in hexane. Total carotenoids X0 $ Xe
were expressed as mg=100 g b-carotene equivalent. Pheno-
lics extract (100 mL) was mixed with 0.2 mL where M is the ratio between the free moisture content at
Folin-Ciocalteau reagent, 2 mL of water, and 1 mL of time t, (X $ Xe), and the initial free moisture content
15% Na2CO3, and the absorbance was measured at (X0 $ Xe). X, X0, and Xe are moisture content, initial
moisture content, and equilibrium moisture content,
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765 nm after 2 h incubation at room temperature. Gallic

acid (Sigma-Aldrich, Oakville, Ontario, Canada) was used respectively. k Is the drying constant (h$n), n is the Page
as standard and the total phenolics were expressed as mg= model parameter, and t is the process time (h). Several pre-
100 g gallic acid equivalent. For the determination of phe- vious works have suggested that the equilibrium moisture
nolic and carotenoid compounds in dried samples, the fruit content can be neglected in Eq. (1) because it is significantly
was first rehydrated to its initial moisture content by soak- lower than the moisture content for most of the drying
ing 10 g of sample in a beaker containing 50 mL of distilled process.[21–23] Thus, in this work Xe was considered negli-
water for 20 min at 20! C. Compound retention was calcu- gible for calculations regarding Eq. (1).
lated by dividing the concentration after processing (c) over Fitting parameters were obtained using SigmaPlot 10.02
the initial compound concentration (co). software.[24] Two criteria were used to evaluate the fit of
Vitamin C was determined according to the method the model, the correlation coefficient (r2) and the sum of
described by Askar and Treptow.[16] Vitamin C was squared residuals (SSR):
expressed as mg=100 g fruit. For vitamin C determination Xh i
in dried samples, the fruit was first rehydrated to its initial SSR ¼ ðMexp $ Mpre Þ2 ð2Þ
moisture by soaking 10 g of sample in a beaker containing
50 mL of distilled water for 20 min at 20! C. Vitamin Also, a statistical analysis of variance of the model para-
C retention was calculated by dividing the concentration meters was given by SigmaPlot 10.02.[24]
after processing (c) over the initial compound concen-
tration (co). Sorption Isotherms
For the determination of vitamin E, lipid extraction was Experimental sorption data were fitted to the
realized according to the method described by Kallio Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) model[3] by non-
et al.[17] The extracted lipids were dissolved in 3 mL of linear regression using SigmaPlot 10.02 software[24]:
hexane and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry (GC-MS). Samples were injected into a Xm C ' K ' aw
Xe ¼ ð3Þ
GC-MS (model 5890, series 2, Hewlett-Packard) coupled ð1 $ K ' aw Þð1 $ K ' aw þ C ' K ' aw Þ
to an MS (nodel 5972, Hewlett-Packard) assembled with
a ZB-5 0.25 " 30 m column (Phenomenex, Torrance, CA). where aw is the water activity, and Xm, C, and K are the
The flow rate of the carrier gas (He) was 1 mL=min. The GAB model constants. A statistical analysis of variance
split valve with a ratio of 1:20 was opened after 1 min. of the model parameters was given by SigmaPlot 10.02.[24]
The temperature program was initially held for 2 min at
150! C and then increased at a rate of 25! C=min to a final Carotenoids, Phenolics, and Vitamin C Kinetics
temperature of 280! C and held for 10 min. The injector Experimental data of phenolics, carotenoids, and vit-
temperature was programmed at 280! C and the MS amin C concentrations as a function of time were corre-
temperature was 300! C. Vitamin E was identified and quan- lated with Weibull’s model given in Eq. (4). Weibull’s
tified by comparison with a standard mixture of known model was originally developed to describe the behavior
composition. Vitamin E retention also was determined by of systems subjected to stress conditions. Thereafter, the
 354 ARAYA-FARIAS ET AL.

model has been successfully applied to a number of diverse showed high variability in seabuckthorn fruit composition
situations describing microbial, enzymatic, and chemical depending on variety, maturity, and growing location.
degradation kinetics[25]: Seabuckthorn fruits are particularly abundant in bioac-
tive molecules such as tocopherols, tocotrienols, phenolics,
# ! "b $
c t and carotenoid compounds. Tocopherols and tocotrienols,
¼ exp $ ð4Þ commonly known as vitamin E, are the major lipid-soluble
co a
antioxidants in seabuckthorn berries. The contents of these
where c and co are the concentration (vitamin C, phenolics, compounds are among the crucial criteria defining the qual-
or carotenoids) at time t and initial, respectively. The scale ity of the seeds, berries, and oils.[27] Depending on the origin,
parameter a (h) is considered a reaction rate constant and considerable variations in vitamin E content have been
the shape parameter b is a behavior index. Fitting para- reported. In fact, the content of tocopherols and tocotrie-
meters were obtained using SigmaPlot 10.02.[24] A statisti- nols in the soft parts of Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. sinensis
cal analysis of variance of the model parameters can be berries (120 mg=kg) was two to three times higher than those
obtained from the software. found in other subspecies such as Hippophae rhamnoides ssp.
rhamnoides (40 mg=kg) and Hippophae rhamnoides ssp.
mongolica (50 mg=kg).[28,29] In the samples of the present
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
work, the content of vitamin E was 108.5 ) 4.00 mg=kg fresh
Nutritional Composition of Seabuckthorn Fruit product (Table 1), similar to values reported previously in
The composition of fresh seabuckthorn fruits is pre-
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the literature. Seabukthorn fruit contains substantially

sented in Table 1. An average fruit weighs 0.41 ) 0.01 g higher vitamin E content than other fruits such as avocado
and contains 87.01 ) 0.12% moisture. These values are close (15 mg=kg), blueberry (8 mg=kg), or mango (9.6 mg=kg).[30]
to the average reported in the literature for the Indian The total carotenoid and phenolic compounds in the
Summer cultivar.[1] Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) represents a fresh fruit are present at levels of 3.99 ) 0.14 and 175.25 )
nutrient of major importance in seabuckthorn fruits 0.24 (mg=100 g), respectively. Beveridge et al.[1] reported
because it is present in large quantities.[1] In fact, the ascor- values of carotenoids ranging from 9.4 to 34.5 (mg=100 g)
bic acid level was 184.63 ) 23.15 (mg=100 g). The result for for the Indian Summer cultivar, which are higher than
vitamin C compares favorably with the average result of the present results. On the other hand, Gao et al.[15]
174.70 ) 30.70 (mg=100 g) published in the literature.[26] reported carotenoids contents from 1 to 6.5 mg=100 g for
Considering that fresh oranges contain 45 mg=100 g, the the Botanitjetskaja variety, 8.2 to 13.3 (mg=100 g) for
amount of vitamin C in seabuckthorn is significant. The Aromatnaja, and 5.1 to 8.0 (mg=100 g) for Trofimovskaja.
content of soluble solids in fresh seabuckthorn was found In contrast to the carotenoids, data for total phenolic
to be 7.91 ) 0.57 ! Brix. This value is lower than the values content in seabuckthorn fruits were not found in the litera-
for Indian Summer found in the literature, which are from ture for the Indian Summer variety. However, the total
9.3 to 17.3 ! Brix.[1] Seabuckthorn fruits var. Indian Summer phenolics content reported in the present study (175.25 )
had an average pH of 2.57 ) 0.03 and an average titratable 0.24 mg=100 g) is similar to that found for other
acidity of 1.71% ) 0.04 based on malic acid (%; Table 1). cultivars such as Botanitjetskaja 156.6 to 177.4 mg=100 g),
The titratable acidity values are similar to those reported Trofimovskaja (114 to 209.8 mg=100 g), and Arotmanaja
by Beveridge et al.[1] and the pH is slightly lower than the (187.9 to 244.1 mg=100 g).[15] Phenolics content observed
one published in the same study. Various investigations in seabuckthorn fruits is significantly lower than that of
other fruits such as cranberries (709 mg=100 g), blueberries
TABLE 1 (503 mg=100 g), and strawberries (366 mg=100 g).[30]
Nutritional and chemical composition of seabuckthorn
fresh fruit (based on fresh weight) Drying Kinetics
Typical hot air drying curves for seabuckthorn fruit at
Attribute Values (average) 1 m=s air velocity and at two air temperatures are shown
in Fig. 1. The moisture content decreased exponentially
pH 2.57 ) 0.03
! with drying time and, thus, hot air drying appeared to take
Brix 7.91 ) 0.57
place in the falling rate period. This behavior is in agree-
Titratable acidity (% malic acid) 1.71 ) 0.04
ment with results published in the literature on drying of
Moisture content (g=100 g) 87.01 ) 0.12
fruits and vegetables.[18,19] Temperature had a significant
Vitamin E (mg=kg) 108.5 ) 4.00
effect (a < 5%) on the acceleration of seabuckthorn fruit
Vitamin C (mg=100 g) 184.63 ) 23.15
hot air drying kinetics.
Total phenolics (mg=100 g) 175.25 ) 0.24
Freeze-drying kinetic curves of seabuckthorn fruit at dif-
Total carotenoids (mg=100 g) 3.99 ) 0.14
ferent heating plate temperatures (20 and 50! C) are shown
 DRYING OF SEABUCKTHORN BERRY 355

temperature increased from 20 to 50! C. As an example,

after 6 h of freeze drying at 50! C, the final moisture content
of seabuckthorn samples was 0.064 (g water=g dry mass)
and 0.149 (g water=g dry mass) at 20! C (Fig. 2). The
sublimation duration was previously reported to decrease
with an increase in temperature during freeze drying.[20]
Experimental data for moisture content and drying time
were correlated with Page’s model, Eq. (1). Figures 1 and 2
show a clear exponential tendency, thus indicating the
potential use of this model. In Figs. 1 and 2, Page’s model
predictions are shown together with experimental data. As
can be observed, the proposed model predicted satisfac-
torily the drying kinetics in seabuckthorn samples. Page’s
model fittings parameters are presented in Table 2 together
with SSR (Eq. (2)) and r2. Due to the lack of information
in the literature on drying of seabuckthorn fruits, the
FIG. 1. Hot air–drying curves of seabuckthorn fruit halves at 50 and 60! C. model parameters were only compared with drying data
for others fruits. Page’s model parameters n and k for
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seabuckthorn drying curves were found to be similar to

in Fig. 2. Temperature had a significant effect (a < 5%) on
those reported for guava, papaya, and tomatoes.[20,23] The
the acceleration of seabuckthorn fruit freeze-drying curves.
rate constant (k) in the Page model involves the moisture
Moisture content of seabuckthorn samples decreased
diffusion coefficient, which is temperature dependent. There-
exponentially with freeze-drying time. A dry layer with
fore, as temperature increases, k increases. As observed in
high resistance to heat and mass transfer increased within
Table 2, the rate constant (k) increased about two times
the product during freeze drying, causing the drying rate
when the temperature changed from 20 to 50! C. Higher
to slow down at the end of the process.[20]
temperatures for freeze drying significantly affected the dur-
Both drying methods had a significant (a < 5%) effect on
ation of the process and therefore the remaining moisture
the remaining moisture content of seabuckthorn samples.
content of the seabuckthorn samples (Fig. 2).
However, freeze drying removed water much faster than
hot air drying (Figs. 1 and 2). As an example, the drying
time to obtain X=X0 ¼ 0.2 was approximately 6 h for hot Sorptional Equilibrium
air drying at 50! C whereas for freeze drying at the same The sorption equilibrium isotherms of freeze-dried and
process temperature it was 2 h. hot air–dried seabuckthorn samples are shown in Fig. 3
An increase in freeze-drying temperature accelerated at 20! C. Both curves showed a type-II sigmoid sorption
the drying rate and ice sublimation. Moisture content
form.[31] Differences in moisture sorption between air-dried
decreased significantly (a < 5%) when the heating plate
or freeze-dried seabuckthorn samples were significant
(a < 5%). Freeze-dried seabuckthorn powders showed a
slightly higher water sorption than hot air–dried ones, indi-
cating that the former powders will be more hygroscopic
during storage. The porous structure generated in the
products during freeze drying can certainly explain their

TABLE 2
Page’s model parameters*
Drying method T (! C) k (h$1) n SSE R2
Freeze drying 20 0.4926 0.9195 0.0064 0.9958
50 1.0691 0.8004 0.0169 0.9875
Hot air drying 50 0.2662 0.9412 0.0004 0.9984
60 0.2920 1.1062 0.0042 0.9953
*
p < 0.005 according to analysis of variance using SigmaPlot
10.02 software.[24] Model parameters were obtained separately
FIG. 2. Freeze-drying curves of seabuckthorn fruit halves at 20 and 50! C. according to each experimental condition.
 356 ARAYA-FARIAS ET AL.

11% more phenolics, and approximately the same amount

of vitamin E as air drying. Gong et al.[35] found similar
results when different dehydration methods were studied
in relation to vitamin C retention of cabbage: whereas
freeze drying retained 60.42%, air drying only preserved
34.38%. In another study, Cui et al.[36] revealed that freeze
drying retained 25% more carotene than air drying in car-
rots and 33% more vitamin C for apples. For papaya and
guava, vitamin C retention after freeze drying was 88 and
63%, respectively, whereas for air-dried samples it was 75
and 25%.[37] The drying temperature did not show a clear
impact on final nutritional retention either in freeze-dried
or hot air–dried seabuckthorn samples (Table 4). Com-
pared to hot air drying, freeze drying can yield high-quality
products because most of the deterioration reactions are
slowed down or practically stopped (i.e., minimization of
FIG. 3. Experimental and predicted (using the GAB model) sorption flavor and aromatic compounds, maximization of nutrient
isotherms of hot air– and freeze-dried seabuckthorn fruit at 20! C. retention, porous structure) due to the absence of liquid
Downloaded by [Universite Laval] at 15:16 29 May 2015

water, the absence of oxygen under vacuum, and the use

of low temperatures.[5,20]
higher water sorption. The fitted constants of the GAB Figures 4 and 5 show vitamin C and carotenoids degra-
equation (Eq. (3)) are given in Table 3. Predictions of the dation, respectively, as a function of the drying time. As
GAB equation with the fitted parameters of Table 3 are can be seen, a significant effect of the process on compound
presented in Fig. 3 together with the experimental data. retention was observed (a < 5%). The effect of drying time
As can be seen, there is good agreement between experi- on phenolic concentrations (not shown) was found to be
mental and predicted data. The Xm value is an important practically constant for both air and freeze drying. Not
sorption parameter because it represents the water first much literature on the retention of phenolic compounds
molecular layer, which can interact with other compo- during drying could be found for comparison. A high rate
nents.[32] Determining the moisture content for the of vitamin C and carotenoids loss was observed at the begin-
maximum shelf stability of a dehydrated material involves ning of the drying followed by a period of less rapid degra-
the determination of the sorption isotherm and the calcu- dation as time increased. This effect was more pronounced
lation of the value of Xm in Eq. (3). The estimated Xm para- for hot air–dried samples than freeze-dried ones. The high
meter of the GAB equation compared well with those for loss rate at the beginning of the drying process may be
other fruits determined by Tsami et al.[33] Lim et al.[34] attributed to the initial high moisture content of material,
and Moraga et al.[9] with values ranging between 0.053 which may allow reactions to take place more easily
and 0.174 g water=g dry solids. (Figs. 1 and 2). The same tendency was found for ascorbic
acid degradation during hot air drying of camu camu at
Carotenoids, Phenolics, and Vitamin C different temperatures.[38] However, for vitamin C retention
Table 4 shows the final compound retention in seabuck- during air drying of pineapple, Santos and Silva[39] found a
thorn fruits after 15 h freeze or air drying. The retention of different kinetics curve, which showed increasing deterio-
bioactive compounds was significantly higher (a < 5%) in ration rate as time increased. The authors explained this
freeze-dried samples than hot air–dried ones. In fact, freeze finding by a dilution of ascorbic acid at the beginning of
drying retains 93% more carotenoids, 34% more vitamin C, the process. The results obtained in this study are in agree-
ment with other results published in the literature on vitamin
C and carotenoids degradation during drying.[8,19,23]
TABLE 3
From the results shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it can be con-
Constants for the GAB isotherms*
cluded that oxygen availability has a major impact on
Drying method T (! C) Xm K C R2 bioactive compound retention during drying, whereas the
effect of process temperature was not clear. Freeze-dried
Freeze drying 20 0.0735 1.0295 66.2120 0.9607 samples (which were processed under vacuum) retained
Hot air drying 20 0.0688 1.0279 7.8674 0.9757 higher amounts of vitamin C and total carotenoids (Figs. 4
*
p < 0.005 according to analysis of variance using SigmaPlot and 5) and vitamin E (Table 4) than air-dried samples. To
10.02 software.[24] Model parameters were obtained separately reinforce this conclusion, final carotenoid content during
according to each experimental condition. air drying at 60! C was 25% higher than at 50! C (Table 4),
 DRYING OF SEABUCKTHORN BERRY 357

TABLE 4
Compound retention (c=co) of seabuckthorn fruits after 15 h of drying
Air drying Freeze drying
Compound 50! C 60! C 20! C 50! C
Moisture content 0.025 ) 0.001 0.006 ) 0.000 0.002 ) 0.002 0.004 ) 0.001
Vitamin C 0.67 ) 0.015 0.61 ) 0.009 0.81 ) 0.011 0.90 ) 0.017
Vitamin E 0.70 ) 0.020 0.65 ) 0.026 0.66 ) 0.028 0.59 ) 0.018
Total carotenoids 0.36 ) 0.012 0.45 ) 0.019 0.78 ) 0.010 0.79 ) 0.021
Total phenolics 0.89 ) 0.080 0.86 ) 0.013 0.96 ) 0.008 0.99 ) 0.023

even though the process temperature was higher. The fact carotenoid retention was higher for spouted bed drying
that at 60! C the drying time was approximately 5 h shorter than for freeze drying. The shorter drying of duration at
than at 50! C could be beneficial in maintaining the total spouted bed temperatures above 70! C was responsible for
carotenoid content due to less exposure to oxygen at these better carotenoid retention in mango pulp.[41]
process conditions. Supporting results could be found in Figures 4 and 5 show the results of the fitting of
the literature.[40,41] In an article by Regier et al.[40] about
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Weibull’s model to vitamin C and carotenoid degradation

air drying of lycopene-rich carrots, total carotenoid reten- kinetics during drying, respectively. In addition, Weibull’s
tion slightly increased when drying was carried out at model parameters are presented in Tables 5 and 6 for
60! C instead of 50! C, though a marked decrease was shown vitamin C and carotenoids, respectively. It was observed
at drying temperatures higher than 70! C. Moreover, when that this model fitted the carotenoid degradation kinetics
drying was performed at 60! C for different carrot thick- better than vitamin C, probably due to the higher variation
nesses, a marked decrease in carotenoid retention was in vitamin C determinations. The parameter a is the
found as thickness increased. The authors claimed that lar- characteristic time when the concentration has decreased
ger samples are associated with longer drying times and, by one natural log cycle (approximately 67%).[25] Higher
thus, with lower retention.[40] In another study on spouted a values indicate lower degradation rates; in other words,
bed drying of mango pulp at different temperatures, da longer time to nutrient collapse. In general, higher a values
Cunha et al.[41] determined that retention of carotenoids were observed in freeze-dried samples, indicating a better
was lower for spouted bed drying compared to freeze drying retention of vitamin C and carotenoid compounds
only when spouted bed temperatures were less than 65! C. (Tables 5 and 6). The values found for a in this work are
At higher spouted bed temperatures, the authors found that of the same order of magnitude as the ones reported for

FIG. 4. Experimental and predicted (using Weibull’s model) vitamin C FIG. 5. Experimental and predicted (using Weibull’s model) carotenoids
retention as a function of drying time. The solid lines correspond to the retention as a function of drying time. The solid lines correspond to the
adjustment of Weibull’s model. adjustment of Weibull’s model.
 358 ARAYA-FARIAS ET AL.

TABLE 5 technical help of Pascal Dubé with the high-performance

Weibull’s model parameters for vitamin C* degradation liquid chromatography analysis (vitamin E) as well as
undergraduate students Ann-Julie Duguay and Marie-
Drying method T (! C) a (h) b R2 Claude Verreault for their technical support in the labora-
Freeze drying 20 87.12 0.4800 0.9540 tory determinations.
50 11,832.36 0.1739 0.7403
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