Dados do Trabalho

Título

DRYING METHODS BEHAVIOR ON THE PRESERVATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN FORAGE PALM (Opuntia ficus-indica) CLADODE

Introdução

The forage palm (FP) is a drought-resistant plant whose cladodes can be used in
flour production, through a unit operation that can result in the loss of thermosensitive nutrients.

Material e Métodos

This study aimed to evaluate the bioactive compounds of FP cladodes during the drying process
to preserve the functional quality of the flour, by comparing the effectiveness of an electric dryer
(ED) and a food dehydrator (FD), at a temperature of 60°C until moisture <15%. The levels of
total soluble phenolic compounds (TSPC) and the pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids) were
evaluated in the fresh and dehydrated FP cladodes. The cladodes were divided into primary (P),
secondary (S), and tertiary and quaternary (TQ).

Resultados e Discussão

The results revealed TSPC levels of 1077 (P),
1107 (S), and 1685 (TQ) mg GAE/100g of fresh sample (dw). In the ED, losses of 10.53% (P),
4.56% (S), and 29.57% (TQ) (p<0.05) were observed, while for FD, the losses were lower, with
reductions of 9.25%, 0.59%, and 19.36%, respectively. The S cladodes showed similar TSPC
levels compared to TQ, but with lower losses, and the degradation of TSPC may result in off-flavors in the flours. Total carotenoids presented reductions of 60.74%, 51.39%, and 30.07% for
ED and 39.26%, 41.04%, and 38.14% for FD, respectively, relative to the initial levels of total
carotenoids of 2.70 (P), 2.51 (S), and 2.15 (TQ) mg/g of fresh sample (dw). Similar behavior
occurred for total chlorophylls, where the P, S, and TQ cladodes presented initial levels of 1.73,
1.80, and 2.04 mg/g of fresh sample (dw). The drying losses were 63.01%, 62.78%, and 65.69%
for ED (p>0.05) and 41.04%, 35.55%, and 33.33% for FD (p<0.05), for the P, S, and TQ cladodes,
respectively.

Conclusão

It was observed that FD showed better performance in preserving bioactive
compounds compared to ED, and the S and TQ cladodes were less affected. FD was more
effective in preserving the compounds, especially in the levels of chlorophyll and carotenoids,
highlighting the importance of drying methods that minimize pigment oxidation. These findings
have important implications for the food industry, providing guidelines to produce sustainable
and nutritious foods with consistent nutritional quality.