Papaya is a tropical fruit rich in bioactive compounds such as vitamins and antioxidant compositions.
In the present study, papaya was dried as single layers with thickness of 3 mm in the ranges of 50-70oC inlet air
temperature and 1±0.2 m/s air velocity in a laboratory scale cabinet dryer. The effect of the air-drying temperature on
drying kinetics, antioxidant capacity and vitamin C content of the papaya was investigated. Papaya was dried to
equilibrium moisture content within a time range of 210-390 min under these drying conditions. Moisture transfer
from papaya slices was described by applying the Fick’s diffusion model, and the effective diffusivity changes
between 1.27 × 10-9 and 3.78 × 10-9.
Effective diffusivity increased with increasing temperature. The radical scavenging activity showed higher
antioxidant activity by increasing temperature. Vitamin C content also decreased as air-drying temperatures
increased.
کلید واژگان :
Papaya, Air-drying, Drying Kinetics, Antioxidant capacity, Vitamin C
