Effect of drying methods on physicochemical quality of dehydrated jackfruit bulbs

Jackfruit bulbs are regarded as an edible portion and have been shown to contain significant amounts of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, carbohydrates, and proteins. The goal of the current research was to find out the effect of drying methods on the physicochemical quality of jackfruit bulbs. The study was done by freeze-drying (FD), cabinet drying (CD), and vacuum drying (VD) for checking the effect of nutritional, physico-chemical, and physical attributes after drying. The phytochemical contents and antioxidant properties of the bulb were analyzed by spectrophotometer and DPPH method respectively. A good amount of carbohydrate content was found in all drying methods, it ranged from 81% to 82%. The total phenolic content (TPC) of FD, CD, and VD dried bulbs was 4.13 ± 0.25 mg, 3.40 ± 0.43 mg and 2.93 ± 0.15 mg GAE/g of dry samples, respectively. Total flavonoid content (TFC) was in the range of 23.52 ± 0.92 mg (FD), 20.30 ± 0.62 mg (CD), and 20.41 ± 0.65 mg (VD) mg QE/100 g of dry samples, whereas the total carotenoid content was 5.60 ± 0.35 mg (FD), 3.61 ± 0.16 mg (CD), and 3.74 ± 0.15 mg (VD) ß-carotene/100 g of dry samples. The antioxidant activity of extracts was 220.22, 194.23, and 131.64 µmole AA/g found in FD, CD, and VD dry samples, respectively. The drying temperatures were revealed to affect characteristics, whereas phytochemical properties, color, texture, rehydration properties, hardness, crispness, and sensory properties gave favorable scores in freeze-dried samples.