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Article history
Received: 7 April 2014
Received in revised form: 27 June 2014
Accepted: 8 July 2014
Keywords
Bael pulp
Mathematical modeling
Drying
Abstract
The bael (Aegle marmelos) is an important indigenous fruit and has various nutritional and therapeutic properties. Five air-drying temperatures (60, 65, 70, 75 and 80°C) and five thickness of pulp on the tray (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mm) were chosen to obtain the drying characteristics of bael fruit pulp. Moisture loss was recorded at every 5 min intervals during drying. The samples were also evaluated for variation in vitamin C and colour. The powder prepared from the pulp dried at 65°C with a drying thickness of 2 mm was found optimum with respect to drying time, colour and ascorbic acid content. Two term model gave the best results for describing the drying kinetics of bael fruit pulp. Temperature at 65°C can be considered as the limiting temperature for drying of bael pulp to observe minimum reasonable change in colour and ascorbic acid content. Loss of vitamins was also more with increase in temperature and thickness of layer.
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Introduction
The bael (Aegle marmelos) is an important indigenous fruit, which is generally grown in Southeast Asia and has various nutritional and therapeutic properties. The pulp of fruit contains many functional and bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, phenolics, alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and other antioxidants which may protect against chronic diseases. The medicinal properties of this plant have also been described in 'Charaka Samhita' an early Sanskrit medicinal treatise. Bael fruit has demand for the native system of medicine such as the 'Ayurvedic'. The marmelosin content is found in the bael fruit which is known as panacea of stomach ailments (Singh and Nath, 2004). The ripened fruit is a tonic and is used for diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery. There are numerous references of its uses in traditional medicine (Arseculeratne et al., 1981; Karunanayake et al., 1984; Singh, 1986). Bael is usually processed into products like juice, preserves, refreshing beverages, powder, leather, squash, nectars, toffee, jam, syrup (Singh and Nath, 2004; Singh et al., 2013).
Drying is defined as a process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat and mass transfer. The...