Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Food Processing Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: L-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is the most important vitamin in terms of nutrition. Ascorbic acid is a thermolabile (heat-sensitive) compound that can be degenerated aerobically or anaerobically. The degradation rates of ascorbic acid differ with the changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and water activity. It is ascertained that the other nutrients residing in a food can be preserved in case the Vitamin C content is preserved. Thus, the compound is considered as the nutritional quality index during the food processing. The simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration (SIRDBD) with intermittent heating method is a novel process in which the temperature is kept constant. Over-blanching causes product quality decline and nutrients, especially vitamins, deterioration. Therefore, the precise process conditions (time and temperature) are specified with the objective of preventing over-processing. To do so, such factors as access to the specific center temperature, access to a certain level of enzymatic inactivation and preservation of a given ratio of Vitamin C should be taken into account. This is subject to the biophysical properties of fruits and slices size and shape. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate operating conditions for blanching step. For this purpose, the effect of irradiation temperature and thickness of the product on the destruction of polyphenol oxidase (enzymatic browning agent) and vitamin C were investigated.
Materials and methods: Apple slices (Golden Delicious variety) were prepared with thickness of 5, 9 and 13 mm and 20 mm in diameter. Irradiation was carried out at three constant temperatures of 70, 75, and 80 ° C. The central temperature of the product was recorded during processing. To evaluate the enzymatic activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and its effect on the product color, apple slices were removed from the device in 2- minute intervals and the process was continued till the time no sign of color change stemming from catechol reagent addition was observable. Vitamin C content measurement was carried out with 30- minute intervals during drying till apple slice reaches constant weight. It was performed based on titration by the use of 2, 6-Dichlorophenol-Indophenol (DCPIP). To calculate the browning index (BI) due to PPO activity, image acquisition was made with the use of a flatbed scanner. The treated samples were placed on the scanner and then a black box was utilized so as to prevent the interferences of the peripheral lights and light reflections. The images featured a 300 dpi quality and were saved in TIFF-24 bit format. Color analysis of the obtained images was carried out in color spaces L*a*b* by the use of “color space convertor” pelagin in ImageJ software, version 1.6.0. Statistical analyses were carried out in SPSS software, version 19. To do so and in order to assess the time required time for the blanching, there was made use of completely randomized design (CRD) in factorial format (32) considering two factors, namely thickness (in three levels) and temperature (in three levels). The statistical analyses of the vitamin degradation kinetic constant (k), as well, were conducted based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) in the course of which the temperature and thickness were considered as the block and the treatment, respectively. Mean comparisons were undertaken based on Duncan test in a 95% confidence level (P

Keywords

Acevedo, N. C., Briones, V., Buera, P., & Aguilera, J. M. (2008). Microstructure affects the rate of chemical, physical and color changes during storage of dried apple discs. Journal of Food Engineering, 85(2), 222-231.
Bai, J. W., Gao, Z. J., Xiao, H. W., Wang, X. T., & Zhang, Q. (2013). Polyphenol oxidase inactivation and vitamin C degradation kinetics of Fuji apple quarters by high humidity air impingement blanching. International journal of food science & technology, 48(6), 1135-1141.
Barrett, D. M., & Lloyd, B. (2012). Advanced preservation methods and nutrient retention in fruits and vegetables. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 92(1), 7-22.
Bingol, G., Wang, B., Zhang, A., Pan, Z., & McHugh, T. H. (2014). Comparison of water and infrared blanching methods for processing performance and final product quality of French fries. Journal of Food Engineering, 121, 135-142.
Bingol, G., Zhang, A., Pan, Z., & McHugh, T. H. (2012). Producing lower-calorie deep fat fried French fries using infrared dry-blanching as pretreatment. Food Chemistry, 132(2), 686-692.
Castro, I., Teixeira, J., Salengke, S., Sastry, S., & Vicente, A. (2004). Ohmic heating of strawberry products: electrical conductivity measurements and ascorbic acid degradation kinetics. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 5(1), 27-36.
Chua, K., Mujumdar, A., & Chou, S. (2003). Intermittent drying of bioproducts––an overview. Bioresource Technology, 90(3), 285-295.
Datta, A., & Ni, H. (2002). Infrared and hot-air-assisted microwave heating of foods for control of surface moisture. Journal of Food Engineering, 51(4), 355-364.
De Corcuera, J. I. R., Cavalieri, R. P., & Powers, J. R. (2004). Blanching of foods Encyclopedia of agricultural, food, and biological engineering (pp. 1-5): Marcel Dekker, Inc New York.
Desai, K., & Park, H. (2005). Encapsulation of vitamin C in tripolyphosphate cross-linked chitosan microspheres by spray drying. Journal of microencapsulation, 22(2), 179-192.
Franke, A. A., Custer, L. J., Arakaki, C., & Murphy, S. P. (2004). Vitamin C and flavonoid levels of fruits and vegetables consumed in Hawaii. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 17(1), 1-35.
Grandison, A. S. (2006). Postharvest handling and preparation of foods for processing. In: Brennan, J. G. and Grandison, A. S. (Eds.), Food Processing Handbook, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, pp. 1-30.
Guiamba, I. R., Svanberg, U., & Ahrne, L. (2015). Effect of infrared blanching on enzyme activity and retention of β‐carotene and vitamin C in dried mango. Journal of Food Science, 80(6).
Hernandez, Y., Lobo, M. G., & Gonzalez, M. (2006). Determination of vitamin C in tropical fruits: A comparative evaluation of methods. Food Chemistry, 96(4), 654-664.
Hossu, A., & Magearu, V. (2004). Determination of vitamin C in pharmaceutical products with physico-chemical and bioanalytical technics. ROMANIAN BIOTECHNOLOGICAL LETTERS., 9, 1497-1504.
Jeevitha, G., Hebbar, H. U., & Raghavarao, K. (2013). Electromagnetic Radiation‐Based Dry Blanching of Red Bell Peppers: A Comparative Study. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 36(5), 663-674.
Joshi, A., Rupasinghe, H., & Khanizadeh, S. (2011). Impact of drying processes on bioactive phenolics, vitamin c and antioxidant capacity of red‐fleshed apple slices. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 35(4), 453-457.
Kaya, A., Aydın, O., & Kolaylı, S. (2010). Effect of different drying conditions on the vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content of Hayward kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa Planch). Food and Bioproducts Processing, 88(2), 165-173.
Krokida, M., Tsami, E., & Maroulis, Z. (1998). Kinetics on color changes during drying of some fruits and vegetables. Drying Technology, 16(3-5), 667-685.
Lavelli, V., & Caronni, P. (2010). Polyphenol oxidase activity and implications on the quality of intermediate moisture and dried apples. European Food Research and Technology, 231(1), 93-100.
Lee, M.-K., Kim, Y.-M., Kim, N.-Y., KIM, G.-N., KIM, S.-H., BANG, K.-S., & PARK, I. (2002). Prevention of browning in potato with a heat-treated onion extract. Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry, 66(4), 856-858.
Lima, J. R., Elizondo, N. J., & Bohuon, P. (2010). Kinetics of ascorbic acid degradation and colour change in ground cashew apples treated at high temperatures (100–180 C). International journal of food science & technology, 45(8), 1724-1731.
Lin, Y., Li, S., Zhu, Y., Bingol, G., Pan, Z., & McHugh, T. H. (2009). Heat and mass transfer modeling of apple slices under simultaneous infrared dry blanching and dehydration process. Drying Technology, 27(10), 1051-1059.
Liu, Y., Zhu, W., Luo, L., Li, X., & Yu, H. (2014). A mathematical model for vacuum far-infrared drying of potato slices. Drying Technology, 32(2), 180-189.
Lopez, J., Uribe, E., Vega-Galvez, A., Miranda, M., Vergara, J., Gonzalez, E., & Di Scala, K. (2010). Effect of air temperature on drying kinetics, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, non-enzymatic browning and firmness of blueberries variety O Neil. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 3(5), 772-777.
MacDonald, L., & Schaschke, C. J. (2000). Combined effect of high pressure, temperature and holding time on polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase activity in banana (Musa acuminata). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 80(6), 719-724.
Marfil, P., Santos, E., & Telis, V. (2008). Ascorbic acid degradation kinetics in tomatoes at different drying conditions. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 41(9), 1642-1647.
Maskan, M. (2001). Kinetics of colour change of kiwifruits during hot air and microwave drying. Journal of Food Engineering, 48(2), 169-175.
Mclaughlin, C., & Magee, T. (1998). The effect of shrinkage during drying of potato spheres and the effect of drying temperature on vitamin C retention. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 76(3), 138-142.
Meeso, N., Nathakaranakule, A., Madhiyanon, T., & Soponronnarit, S. (2007). Modelling of far-infrared irradiation in paddy drying process. Journal of Food Engineering, 78(4), 1248-1258.
Mrad, N. D., Boudhrioua, N., Kechaou, N., Courtois, F., & Bonazzi, C. (2012). Influence of air drying temperature on kinetics, physicochemical properties, total phenolic content and ascorbic acid of pears. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 90(3), 433-441.
Nowak, D., & Lewicki, P. P. (2004). Infrared drying of apple slices. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 5(3), 353-360.
Oey, I., Van der Plancken, I., Van Loey, A., & Hendrickx, M. (2008). Does high pressure processing influence nutritional aspects of plant based food systems? Trends in Food Science & Technology, 19(6), 300-308.
Quiles, A., Hernando, I., Perez‐Munuera, I., Larrea, V., Llorca, E., & Lluch, M. (2005). Polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity and osmotic dehydration in Granny Smith apple. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85(6), 1017-1020.
Riadh, M. H., Ahmad, S. A. B., Marhaban, M. H., & Soh, A. C. (2015). Infrared heating in food drying: An overview. Drying Technology, 33(3), 322-335.
Romani, S., Rocculi, P., Mendoza, F., & Dalla Rosa, M. (2009). Image characterization of potato chip appearance during frying. Journal of Food Engineering, 93(4), 487-494.
Sablani, S. S. (2006). Drying of fruits and vegetables: retention of nutritional/functional quality. Drying Technology, 24(2), 123-135.
Santos, P., & Silva, M. (2008). Retention of vitamin C in drying processes of fruits and vegetables—A review. Drying Technology, 26(12), 1421-1437.
Singh, R., Lund, D., & Buelow, F. (1983). Storage stability of intermediate moisture apples: kinetics of quality change. Journal of Food Science, 48(3), 939-944.
Tanaka, F., Verboven, P., Scheerlinck, N., Morita, K., Iwasaki, K., & Nicolai, B. (2007). Investigation of far infrared radiation heating as an alternative technique for surface decontamination of strawberry. Journal of Food Engineering, 79(2), 445-452.
Timoumi, S., Mihoubi, D., & Zagrouba, F. (2007). Shrinkage, vitamin C degradation and aroma losses during infra-red drying of apple slices. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 40(9), 1648-1654. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2006.11.008
Uddin, M., Hawlader, M., & Zhou, L. (2001). Kinetics of ascorbic acid degradation in dried kiwifruits during storage. Drying Technology, 19(2), 437-446.
Uddin, M., Hawlader, M., Ding, L., & Mujumdar, A. (2002). Degradation of ascorbic acid in dried guava during storage. Journal of Food Engineering, 51(1), 21-26.
Vega-Galvez, A., Ah-Hen, K., Chacana, M., Vergara, J., Martinez-Monzo, J., Garcia-Segovia, P., Di Scala, K. (2012). Effect of temperature and air velocity on drying kinetics, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, colour, texture and microstructure of apple (var. Granny Smith) slices. Food Chemistry, 132(1), 51-59.
Verbeyst, L., Bogaerts, R., Van der Plancken, I., Hendrickx, M., & Van Loey, A. (2013). Modelling of vitamin C degradation during thermal and high-pressure treatments of red fruit. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 6(4), 1015-1023.
Vieira, M. C., Teixeira, A., & Silva, C. (2000). Mathematical modeling of the thermal degradation kinetics of vitamin C in cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) nectar. Journal of Food Engineering, 43(1), 1-7.
Vishwanathan, K. H., Giwari, G. K., & Hebbar, H. U. (2013). Infrared assisted dry-blanching and hybrid drying of carrot. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 91(2), 89-94. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2012.11.004
Wu, G.-C., Zhang, M., Mujumdar, A. S., & Wang, R. (2010). Effect of calcium ion and microwave power on structural and quality changes in drying of apple slices. Drying Technology, 28(4), 517-522.
Zhu, Y., & Pan, Z. (2009). Processing and quality characteristics of apple slices under simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration with continuous heating. Journal of Food Engineering, 90(4), 441-452. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2008.07.015
Zhu, Y., Pan, Z., McHugh, T. H., & Barrett, D. M. (2010). Processing and quality characteristics of apple slices processed under simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration with intermittent heating. Journal of Food Engineering, 97(1), 8-16.
CAPTCHA Image