Drying of betel leaves (Piper betle L.): quality and drying kinetics
2009
Choong,T. S Y. | Abdull Rashih A. | Pin, K. Y. | Rasadah M. A. | Chuah, T G | Law, C. L.
This work studied the effect of drying temperature on drying kinetics and quality of betel leaves (Piper betle L.). This medicinal plant which is locally known as Sirih is reported to possess various beneficial bioactivities discovered in this herb including anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial. In this study, the leaves dried at different temperatures were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The quality of betel leaves was evaluated based on the change of its major chemical compounds which are hydroxychavicol and eugenol. The results indicated that the content of major compounds in dried leaves was higher than fresh leaves. The major compounds increased with temperature from 40 to 60°C. The increase of drying temperature shortened the drying time required. The kinetics data was fitted with different thin layer models. Logarithmic model was found to be the most suitable model to describe the drying process of betel leaves.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Universiti Putra Malaysia
