Journal of Food Processing and Preservation ISSN 1745-4549

EFFECT OF AIR-DRYING TEMPERATURE ON THE QUALITY AND

BIOACTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF DRIED GALEGA KALE
(BRASSICA OLERACEA L. VAR. ACEPHALA)
SARA M. OLIVEIRA, INÊS N. RAMOS, TERESA R.S. BRANDÃO and CRISTINA L.M. SILVA1
Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF), Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto,
Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, Porto 4202-401, Portugal

1
Corresponding author. ABSTRACT
TEL: +351-22-5580058;
FAX: +351-22-5090351; The objective of this work was to evaluate the drying characteristics and the effect
EMAIL: clsilva@porto.ucp.pt of drying temperature on the quality characteristics of Galega kale without any
pretreatment. Drying times of 330, 162, 78 and 51 min provided minimal mois-
Received for Publication November 23, 2014
ture contents, using temperatures of 35, 50, 70 and 85C, respectively. The L* and
Accepted for Publication March 15, 2015
a* values diminished and b* increased, resulting in increasing values of chroma,
doi:10.1111/jfpp.12498 total color difference and browning index, as well as decreasing values of the hue
angle. A pronounced effect on the retention of total phenolic compounds and
vitamin C losses ranging from 4.8 ± 9.7 to 55.5 ± 7.4% were observed. Regarding
antioxidant capacity, losses from 51.7 ± 7.5 to 69.6 ± 3.7% were obtained. Chloro-
phyll a content decreased with increasing drying temperatures, with losses
between 8.9 ± 6.7 and 35 ± 5.6%, while degradation of chlorophyll b was negli-
gible. In conclusion, the air drying of Galega kale without any pretreatment
resulted in considerable deterioration of its quality characteristics and nutritional
value.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Drying processes are often applied to preserve and increase the shelf life of veg-
etables. These products contain an extensive collection of phytochemicals known
to provide health benefits. However, these compounds generally undergo signifi-
cant degradation during drying because of their sensitivity to heat, light, oxygen,
as well as to leaching phenomena. Thus, increased attention has been given to the
concerns regarding the quality degradation of vegetables during drying. Galega
kale was the selected vegetable as information concerning the influence of drying
on the quality parameters of this vegetable is scarce. Additionally, this vegetable is
known to present several healthy nutrients, but after harvest it is easily perishable.
Therefore, drying could be a valuable strategy to preserve and increase the shelf
life of this product. Thus, this work evaluates the impact of the drying tempera-
ture on the quality properties of Galega kale without the employment of any
pretreatment.

cabbage family (Mwithiga and Olwal 2005). Moreover, it is

INTRODUCTION
Galega kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. Acephala) is a tradi-
tional fresh-cut vegetable, consisting of a headless leafy
cabbage with long petioles and large midrib bed leaves
(Fonseca et al. 2002). This leafy vegetable presents high
amounts of vitamins, as well as other micronutrients, and is
well ranked in terms of nutrition among members of the
often included as soup ingredient, playing an important role
in the Iberian Peninsula diet (Martínez et al. 2010). Never-
theless, the characteristic high moisture content compro-
mises its preservation, with quality losses occurring
immediately after harvest. Refrigeration is often used to
increase the shelf life of vegetables. However, chilling tem-
peratures maintain acceptable characteristics only for a few

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 2485
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE
days, and, on the contrary, freezing may cause significant
sensory quality degradation. Furthermore, the access to
refrigeration equipment is not accessible to many popula-
tions, especially in underdeveloped economies.
Drying has been used for centuries as a common practice
to efficiently preserve and increase the shelf life of perish-
able food products. This practice also presents economic
benefits as storage is facilitated and transport and packaging
costs are reduced. Solar drying was the first approach
employed, and along the years, technological and scientific
discoveries provided the development of new drying
methods, such as microwave, osmotic, vacuum, freeze and
convective drying. Hot-air convective dryers are frequently
used by food industrials to attain large amount of dried veg-
etables. However, dehydration is unavoidably accompanied
by physical, biological and chemical modifications, which
may affect the overall quality of the dried products and con-
sumer’s acceptance. The main chemical changes associated
with drying are related to the degradation of phyto-
chemicals, such as vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, pig-
ments and other bioactive compounds. Because of their
naturally heat-sensitive nature, most phytochemicals
degrade significantly during drying (Devahastin and
Niamnuy 2010). Moreover, nutrient losses are inevitably
associated with leaching as a result of the water removal
from the vegetable during the drying process.
Scientific effort on studying the nutritional parameters of
air-dried vegetables has been focusing mainly on coriander
leaves (Ahmed et al. 2001), carrots (Negi and Roy 2001a;
Wellner et al. 2009; Hiranvarachat et al. 2011, 2012; Duan
and Barringer 2012), broccoli (Mrkìc et al. 2006; Jin et al.
2014), red pepper (Vega-Gálvez et al. 2009), cabbage outer
leaves (Tanongkankit et al. 2011), corn, broccoli, onion
stalk, capsicum bell pepper (Mamatha et al. 2012), okra
(Pendre et al. 2012), potatoes (Rytel 2012) and pumpkin
(Lago-Vanzela et al. 2013).
Regarding Galega kale, some studies are presented in the
literature. The effect of air drying of kale was evaluated
regarding the amino acid content and protein quality
(Korus 2014), chlorophylls and carotenoids (Korus 2011a),
and antioxidants (Korus 2011b). However, the purpose of
these works was to compare freeze and air-drying methods.
Accordingly, only one drying temperature (55C) was used
in the convective dryer. Alibas (2009) compared microwave,
vacuum and convective drying of collard leaves. The color
parameters and ascorbic acid (AA) content were evaluated
using air-drying temperatures between 50 and 175C. Con-
cerning the air-drying method, the color coordinates L* and
b* decreased and a* increased with the increase of tempera-
ture. The values of the color parameters chroma and hue
angle decreased with temperature, being the largest loss reg-
istered at 175C. In relation to the AA content, retentions
between 40 and 75% were reported using air-drying tem-
2486 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.
peratures of 50 and 175C, respectively. The dry matter
content and stability of pigments were assessed in kale sub-
mitted to freeze drying, vacuum drying and oven drying at
50 and 75C (Lefsrud et al. 2008). The drying temperature
did not have a significant impact on the dry matter.
However, lutein, β-carotene and chlorophyll levels decreased
over 70% as the drying temperature increased from −25 to
75C. Information integrating the influence of a wide range
of convective drying temperatures on the drying character-
istics, quality and nutritional parameters of Galega kale is
still lacking.
The objective of the present work was to study the influ-
ence of air-drying temperature on the drying characteristics
and some quality parameters of Galega kale. The drying
periods and rates, final moisture contents, as well as water
activity, color properties, vitamin C, total phenolic content,
total antioxidant activity and chlorophyll contents were
assessed in fresh and dehydrated Galega kale using air-
drying temperatures of 35, 50, 70 and 85C.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Drying Equipment
This study was carried out using a pilot plant convective
tray dryer (Armfield UOP8, Ringwood, England) with
forced air and controlled temperature and velocity (Fig. 1).
Efforts were made to improve the convective dryer in order
to enable online acquisition of total weight and air tempera-
ture. A digital balance (Sartorius, Goettingen, Germany)
was attached to the drying trays and connected to a
computer (Hewlett-Packard Vectra, Palo Alto, CA), running
a program that enabled online acquisition of total weight
every 3 min during drying. Air temperature was monitored
in a squirrel datalogger (Grant Instruments 1023, Cam-
bridge, England), and thermocouple wires were supplied by
Grant Instruments. Drying experiments were carried out
within the temperature range of 35–85C. Air velocity
was set at 1.20 ± 0.09 m/s and measured regularly with a
vane anemometer (Airflow LCA 6000, Buckinghamshire,
England). To minimize drying fluctuations at high tempera-
tures, the inlet and outlet of the dryer were attached with a
flexible metallic tube, which allowed partial air recirculation
and minimized heat losses.
Drying air relative humidity values were calculated using
dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures through a psychromet-
ric chart calculator (Jayes 2014).
Drying Experiments
Fresh Galega kale (B. oleracea L. var. Acephala) leaves were
harvested from a local agricultural field and used for the
drying experiment on the same day. The leaves were washed
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.
FIG. 1. SCHEME OF THE PILOT PLANT TRAY
DRYER
with tap water, dried with absorbent paper, chopped and
sliced to samples of approximately 5-mm wide. A mass of
50 g of the sliced material was divided into three similar
portions and placed in the three top trays of the dryer. The
kale was dried until constant weight, using temperatures of
35, 50, 70, 60 and 85C. During the drying experiments, the
temperature of the convective dryer was first increased to
the set temperature and the steady conditions were main-
tained for at least 15 min, before introduction of the
samples in the trays of the dryer. The sample mass was reg-
istered immediately and thereafter at a frequency of 3 min−1.
A photograph of kale before and after convective drying is
presented in Fig. 2.
The dehydrated samples were then cooled down at room
temperature and finally packed and sealed in polyethylene
bags until further analysis.
Moisture Content Determination
The moisture content (% dry basis [d.b.]) of the dried
samples was determined using an air oven (Ehret,
FIG. 2. PHOTOGRAPH OF KALE BEFORE (LEFT PICTURE) AND AFTER
(RIGHT PICTURE) CONVECTIVE DRYING AT 70 ± 2C
Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE
Emmendingen, Germany) set at 104C. Each sample was
dried for 16–18 h at 104C and weight loss was expressed as
moisture content (AOAC 2002). The moisture content was
calculated on a % d.b. of the average of three replicates of
each sample.
Determination of Quality Parameters
All reagents were of analytical grade quality, with no further
purification treatment. All solutions were prepared using
deionized water with specific conductance less than 0.1 μS/
cm. Milli-Q water (resistivity > 18 MΩ·cm) was also used
when stated.
Water Activity. The water activity of fresh and dehy-
drated kale was measured at 22C with a HygroLab3 meter
(Rotronic, Hauppauge, NY), previously calibrated with a
standard solution with a water activity of 0.760. Dried
samples were only inserted in the device after cooling down
to room temperature. Three measurements were performed
for each sample.
Color Properties. The color values (L*, a* and b*) of
fresh and dried Galega kale were assessed using a Minolta
CR-400 colorimeter (Konica-Minolta, Osaka, Japan), cali-
brated with a white standard tile. The color was determined
by three readings of three different replicates for each
sample.
The color brightness coordinate L* measures the white-
ness value of a color and ranges from black at 0 to white at
100. The chromaticity coordinate a* measures red when
positive and green when negative, and the chromaticity
coordinate b* measures yellow when positive and blue when
negative. The saturation index or chroma (Eq. 1) and hue
2487
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE
angle (Eq. 2), total color difference (TCD, Eq. 3) and
browning index (BI, Eq. 4) were calculated from the L*, a*
and b* values, and used to evaluate the color changes using
different drying temperatures (Alibas 2009; Ihns et al.
2011).
Chroma = a*2 + b*2
Hue angle = tan −1 ⎛ ⎞
b*
⎝ a* ⎠
TCD = (L*0 − L*)2 + (a0* − a*)2 + (b0* − b*)2
where the index “0” indicates fresh sample.
100 ( x − 0.31)
Browning index =
0.17
in which
a* + 1.75L*
x=
5.645L* + a* − 3.012b*
Vitamin C. The quantification of vitamin C (ascorbic acid
[AA] plus dehydroascorbic acid [DAA]) before and after the
drying process was carried out by the method described by
Zapata and Dufour (1992). AA and DAA contents were
determined by high-performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC) analysis, using isoascorbic acid (IAA) as internal
standard. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 1.8 mL/min
and detector wavelengths were 348 and 261 nm for DAA
and AA detections, respectively. DAA was detected as
fluorophore 3-(1,2-dihydroxyethyl)furo[3,4-b]quinoxaline-
1-one (DFQ) after derivatization with 1,2-
phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPDA). Separation
was performed in a reverse phase C18-silica analytical
column (Waters Spherisorb ODS2 5 μm 4.6 × 250 mm).
The mobile phase was prepared by dissolving 100 mL of
methanol (Merck Kenilworth, NJ), 13.61 g of potassium
dihydrogen phosphate (Fluka) and 3.64 g of hexadecyl-
trimethylammonium bromide (cetrimide) (Fluka) in 2.00 L
of Milli-Q water. The solution was then filtered, by vacuum,
through a 0.45-mm cellulose acetate membrane filter
(Whatman) and finally degassed by ultrasound.
The standard stock solution was prepared by dissolving
0.05 g of AA (Merck) and 0.05 g of DAA (Sigma-Aldrich, St.
Louis, MO) in 5% (v/v) methanol solution and adjusting
the volume to 50.00 mL. Working standard solutions were
prepared by measuring 0.500, 1.00, 2.00 and 4.00 mL of the
stock standard solution to different flasks, and adding
1.00 mL of IAA (0.03 g in 50.00 mL of 5% methanol) to
each flask. An amount of 5% methanol was added to each
flask until a maximum of less than 20 mL. After adjusting
the pH to 2.5 with 1 mol/L hydrochloric acid, the volume
2488 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.
was adjusted to 20.00 mL in volumetric flasks with 5% (v/v)
methanol. For each solution, 3.00 mL was transferred to a
test tube
and 1.00 mL of OPDA (prepared by dissolving 0.03 g of
ortho-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (Sigma-Aldrich)
in 50 mL of 5% methanol). The test tubes were stored in the
(1) dark at room temperature for 40 min and the solutions
were filtered to vials with a syringe attached to a 0.22-μm
filter. The vials were placed on the HPLC to be analyzed in
(2)
duplicate.
For sample analysis, 3.0 g of fresh kale or 0.45 g of
(3) dehydrated kale was extracted with 15 mL of 5% methanol
and homogenized with an Ultra-Turrax homogenizer
(Ika digital T25, IKA-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, Staufen,
Germany). The resultant suspension was filtered with gaze;
(4) an amount of 5% methanol was added to each flask until a
maximum less than 20 mL; and 1.00 mL of IAA was added
to each flask. Further reaction with OPDA was performed as
described for the standard solutions.
(5)
Total Phenolics. Extraction was performed by homog-
enizing 1.0 g of fresh sample or 0.15 g of dried sample in
10.0 mL of 100% methanol with an Ultra-Turrax homog-
enizer (Ika digital T25, IKA-Werke GmbH & Co. KG). These
extracts were also used for total antioxidant capacity
(TAOC) and chlorophyll analysis. Three extractions were
prepared for each sample and measurements were per-
formed in triplicate for each extraction.
The chromophore development reaction is based on oxi-
dation of polyphenols via Folin–Ciocalteu reagent
(Singleton and Rossi 1965). Standard solutions for the cali-
bration curve were prepared from a solution containing
1 mg/mL of gallic acid.
The reaction was performed by mixing 50 μL of the stan-
dard or sample to 50 μL of Folin–Ciocalteu phenol reagent
(Merck), 1 mL of 75 g/L Na2CO3 (Sigma-Aldrich) and
1.4 mL of distilled water. After incubating for 1 h in the
dark at room temperature, the absorbance was read at
750 nm using a visible spectrophotometer (Novaspec II,
Piscataway, NJ). The total samples’ phenol content
(reported as gallic acid equivalent) was calculated by inter-
polation in the calibration curve.
Total Antioxidant Activity. Direct production of the
(blue/green) ABTS•+ chromophore is achieved via reaction
between ABTS and potassium persulfate, using the modifi-
cations proposed by Gião et al. (2007).
Further, 7 mmol/L ABTS was prepared by dissolving
38.4 mg of 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic
acid) diammonium salt (Sigma-Aldrich) in 10.00 mL of
Milli-Q water. The, 2.45 mmol/L potassium persulfate
(Merck) was prepared by dissolving 6.6 mg of the
corresponding solid in 10.00 mL of Milli-Q water.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL. EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE

ABTS• + solution was prepared by adding the previous solu-

tions to a test tube protected from light with an aluminum
paper. The solution was kept in the dark at room tempera-
ture for 16 h and stored at 4C for further experiments.
To obtain the diluted ABTS solution, an amount of the
ABTS•+ solution (filtered with filter syringe) was diluted
with Milli-Q water, adjusting the absorbance (λ = 734 nm)
to 0.700 ± 0.020. AA stock solution of 10 mg/mL was pre-
pared by dissolving 10 mg of AA (Merck) in 1.00 mL of
100% methanol. The reaction was performed by adding
10 μL of standard or sample to 1,000 μL of the ABTS
diluted solution. After waiting for 6 min in the dark, absor-
bance values were measured at 734 nm. Quantitative results
(in g/L of AA equivalent) were calculated through interpo-
lating the samples’ absorbance values in the calibration
curve, obtained with the standard solutions of AA. FIG. 3. CHARACTERISTIC DRYING CURVES OF GALEGA KALE WITH
AN AIR VELOCITY OF 1.20 ± 0.09 M/S AT TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50,
70 AND 85C
Chlorophylls. After extraction, samples were kept in
dark cold room at 4C for 24 h. Quantitative chlorophyll
determinations were carried out by reading absorbance at respectively. When the lowest temperature was tested, the
665.2 (A665.2) and 652.4 (A652.4) nm in a spectrophotometer drying time to reach the minimal moisture content was
(Specord S600 – Analytik Jena, Jena, Germany). Chlorophyll almost 6.5 times higher than the one observed with the
a and b contents, expressed in milligrams, were calculated highest temperature.
by Lichtenthaler’s formulas presented in Eqs. (6) and (7), The characteristic drying rate curves (drying rate versus
respectively (Lichtenthaler 1987). Total chlorophyll was cal- water content) of Galega kale obtained with a constant air
culated from the sum of chlorophyll a plus chlorophyll b: velocity and under different temperature levels are depicted
in Fig. 4. Studies on both the drying curve and the drying
Chlorophyll a = 16.72 A665.2 − 9.16 A652.4 (6) rate curve show that the drying cycle can be described as
comprising a number of stages (Ihns et al. 2011). The first
Chlorophyll b = 34.09 A652.4 − 15.28 A665.2 (7) stage represents a “settling down” period, during which the
solid surface conditions come into equilibrium with the
Statistical Analysis. One-way analysis of variance drying air. During the second stage, known as the constant
(ANOVA) was performed to assess air-drying temperature rate period (CRP), the surface of the solid remains saturated
effects. Post-hoc tests were also carried out for paired means
comparison (Tukey’s test). The normality of data was
assessed by Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The significance
level assumed in all situations was 5%. Analyses were per-
formed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20 for Windows (SPSS,
Inc., Chicago, IL).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Drying Curves and Drying Rate Curves of

Galega Kale
Air-drying experiments were conducted, fixing the air
velocity to 1.20 ± 0.09 m/s and using temperatures of 35, 50,
70 and 85 ± 2C. Figure 3 presents the variation of moisture
content of Galega kale with drying time.
The drying time necessary to attain equilibrium moisture FIG. 4. CHARACTERISTIC DRYING RATE CURVES OF GALEGA KALE
content values varied significantly, being 330, 162, 78 and WITH AN AIR VELOCITY OF 1.20 ± 0.09 M/S AT TEMPERATURES OF
51 min for drying temperatures of 35, 50, 70 and 85C, 35, 50, 70 AND 85C

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 2489
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.

TABLE 1. VALUES OF WATER ACTIVITY, FINAL

Final moisture Air relative
MOISTURE CONTENT AND AIR RELATIVE
Drying temperature (C) Water activitya content (d.b.) humidity (%)b
HUMIDITY OBTAINED FOR DEHYDRATED KALE
35 0.525 ± 0.001 1.29 43.0 ± 3.3 UNDER DRYING TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50,
50 0.487 ± 0.001 0.88 24.8 ± 0.6 70 AND 85C
70 0.465 ± 0.008 0.29 13.9 ± 0.4
85 0.461 ± 0.001 0.01 10.7 ± 0.5
a
Values expressed as mean ± standard deviation, n = 3.
b
Values expressed as mean ± standard deviation, n = 5.
d.b., dry basis.

with liquid. At the third stage, identified as the falling rate
period (FRP), a point is reached at which the rate of move-
ment of moisture from the material to the surface is
reduced to the extent that the surface begins to dry out
(Ihns et al. 2011). The characteristic drying rate curves
shown in Fig. 4 present a long and single FRP, showing that
drying in the tray dryer is controlled by internal mass trans-
fer, according to what happens with most foods (Mazza and
Lemaguer 1980). No CRP is observed, indicating that the
water movement from inside the kale is not sufficient to
saturate its surface with liquid water. Maximum drying rates
of 0.109 and 0.146 kg H2O/kg dry matter/min were
obtained at 35 and 50C. The highest drying rate of 0.234 kg
H2O/kg dry matter/min was achieved using 70 and 85C.
Quality Parameter Evaluation
Water Activity. Water activity (aw) concept was presented
as a parameter to determine water availability of foods, con-
stituting a critical approach for assessing food stability (Kou
et al. 1999; Rahman 2010). This concept has been consid-
ered as an imperative parameter, concerning the behavior of
food during processing and storage, with particular empha-
sis on its effects on degradation reactions of chemical,
enzymatic or physical nature, such as lipid oxidation,
nonenzymatic and enzymatic activities, and the texture/
mouthfeel of foods (Labuza 1977; Maltini et al. 2003;
Sablani et al. 2007).
The water activity, final moisture contents and drying air
relative humidity values obtained for the tested drying tem-
peratures are indicated in Table 1. The fresh sample pro-
vided a water activity of 0.881 ± 0.001 and a moisture
content of 5.30% d.b. (84.1 ± 0.2% wet basis), these values
being consistent with this vegetable (Ayaz et al. 2006;
Martínez et al. 2010). Compared with the fresh sample, a
significant reduction of water activity was observed for
dehydrated samples. Comparing the dried samples, slight
decreases were observed as the drying temperature
increased. Similarly, final moisture content and air relative
humidity decreased with increasing temperatures, demon-
strating that temperature plays an important role on water
removal from the sample.
Color Values and Properties. The average L* (bright-
ness), a* (greenness) and b* (yellowness) color values
obtained for fresh and dehydrated kale under drying tem-
peratures of 35, 50, 70 and 85C are presented in Table 2.
Higher similarities to fresh kale were obtained at 35C for
a*and b* parameters, and at 50C for L* coordinate. It can be
observed that coordinate L* presented the lowest value at
the higher temperature, indicating that the fresh product
presented a darker color compared with the sample dried at
85C (Vega-Gálvez et al. 2009). Concerning the dehydrated
samples, L* and a* parameters decreased with an increase in
temperature. On the contrary, the b* coordinate showed an
increasing tendency using drying temperatures in the range
of 35–70C, stabilizing at the higher temperature. This
increase of yellowness may be justified by the generation of
brown products due to nonenzymatic reactions. These
results indicate that increasing drying temperatures results
in the reduction of the brightness and intensity of the green
color, and in the yellow color intensification. This may be
explained by the decomposition of chlorophylls and other
pigments, alterations in carotenoid contents, or the

TABLE 2. COLOR VALUES OF L*, A* AND B*

Drying temperature (C) L* a* b*
OBTAINED FOR FRESH AND DEHYDRATED
Fresh 41.75 ± 2.45a −8.34 ± 0.46a 10.42 ± 0.60a KALE UNDER DRYING TEMPERATURES OF 35,
35 46.16 ± 1.08b −8.17 ± 1.00a 14.02 ± 2.64b 50, 70 AND 85C
50 41.81 ± 1.84a −9.27 ± 0.84b 17.58 ± 2.56c
70 39.55 ± 0.78a −10.40 ± 0.53c 21.99 ± 1.64d
85 35.46 ± 4.20c −10.67 ± 0.36c 21.61 ± 0.46d

Notes: Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, n = 9. Values with the same letter in
same column were not significantly different (P > 0.05).

2490 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL. EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE

FIG. 5. COLOR PROPERTIES FOR FRESH AND DEHYDRATED KALE UNDER DRYING TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50, 70 AND 85C
Values with the same letter of each chart were not significantly different (P > 0.05).

occurrence of enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions that
affect the color of the product during the drying process
(Maskan 2001; Vega-Gálvez et al. 2009).
The variation of chroma, hue angle, TCD and BI of fresh
and dried samples is presented in Fig. 5. The saturation
index or chroma and the hue angle provide more informa-
tion about the spatial distribution of colors than direct
values of tristimulus measurements (Sigge et al. 2001).
Rising temperatures resulted in a significant (P < 0.05)
increase of chroma and a decrease of the hue angle until
70C, remaining stable at the highest tested temperature.
These results indicated that temperature plays a crucial role
on color parameters of kale, revealing higher degree of
sample discoloration with increasing temperatures.
The air-drying temperature affected also the TCD, reveal-
ing a rising tendency with the increase of temperature. TCD
values ranged from 5.99 ± 2.28 (at 35C) to 13.46 ± 2.41 (at
85C). No significant (P > 0.05) difference was obtained
between 35 and 50C, as well as between 70 and 85C.
However, the two lowest temperatures were significantly dif-
ferent from the two highest temperatures. These results
demonstrate the occurrence of color deterioration during
the drying process, this effect being intensified with increas-
ing drying temperatures.
In relation to the BI, a value of 12.05 ± 1.73 was obtained
for the fresh sample. For dried samples, the BI increased
with temperature, with values between 21.04 ± 5.56 and
63.37 ± 17.27. Using a drying temperature of 35C, no sig-
nificant difference (P > 0.05) was obtained in comparison to
the fresh sample. However, significant increases on the BI
were observed in dried kale, using drying temperatures
between 50 and 85C. This reflects the development of the
brown color in kale during the drying process, as a result of
pigments formed by the effect of the enzymatic and nonen-
zymatic reactions (Serratosa et al. 2011). Vega-Gálvez et al.
(2009) also observed that a temperature increase in the air
drying of tomato slices led to an important formation of
brown products, explained by an increase in the kinetic
reaction rate that showed a maximum nonenzymatic
browning (NEB) value at 90C. According to the authors, the
inhibitory effect of water seems to be a decisive factor in the
NEB reaction rate and the development of the Maillard
reaction frequently occurs in concomitance with other
events, which can contribute to change both color and the
overall antioxidant capacity of pretreated foods.
Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for human
health, constituting a co-factor in enzymatic metabolic

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 2491
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.

TABLE 3. VITAMIN C VALUES AND RECOVERY PERCENTAGES matter was obtained. Independently of the drying tempera-
OBTAINED FOR FRESH AND DEHYDRATED KALE UNDER DRYING ture, the dehydration process resulted in a pronounced
TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50, 70 AND 85C
negative impact on the total phenolic content, with average
Drying temperature (C) Vitamin C (mg/100 g d.m.) Retention (%) losses of 93.9 ± 0.6%. Compared with the fresh sample,
Fresh 566.1 ± 23.3a – retention percentages of 6.8 ± 0.3, 6.3 ± 0.8, 6.0 ± 0.4 and
35 539.0 ± 54.8a 95.2 ± 9.7 5.4 ± 0.6% (n = 9) were obtained using drying temperatures
50 379.2 ± 44.0b 67.0 ± 7.8 of 35, 50, 70 and 85C, respectively. Regarding the dehy-
70 336.3 ± 47.0bc 59.4 ± 8.3 drated samples, a reduction of 20% on the phenolic content
85 252.1 ± 42.0c 44.5 ± 7.4
was obtained when the drying temperature varied from 35
Notes: Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, n = 4. to 85C. Similar observations were described in the air
Values with the same letter in the first column were not significantly drying of red pepper (Vega-Gálvez et al. 2009), artichoke
different (P > 0.05).
by-product (Icier 2010) and kale (Korus 2011b). The
d.m., dry matter
decrease of total phenolic compounds due to drying may be
attributed to the modifications in the chemical structure of
polyphenols, resulting in compounds that cannot be
reactions, such as collagen synthesis reactions that cause the extracted and determined by available methods, or to the
most severe symptoms of scurvy when they are dysfunc- binding of polyphenols with other compounds, such as pro-
tional. In addition, it is also known for its antioxidant teins (Di Scala et al. 2011). In fact, thermal processes can
properties, protecting the organism from oxidative stress lead to auto-oxidation reactions involving phenolic com-
(Landete 2013). Moreover, vitamin C is considered as an pounds and the formation of iron–phenol complexes
indicator of the quality of food processing due to its low (López-Nicolas and García-Carmona 2010). These major
stability during thermal processes (Podse˛dek 2007). losses could be reduced by submitting the samples to a pre-
The vitamin C values and recovery percentages obtained treatment, such as blanching, before the thermal process.
for fresh and dehydrated kale are indicated in Table 3. The Korus (2011b) described an improvement of 20% regarding
results indicated a decreasing tendency between vitamin C losses of total phenolic compounds by blanching the kale
retention values and temperature. The fresh sample pro- leaves for 2.5 min in water at 96–98C before the convective
vided a vitamin C content of 566.1 ± 23.3 mg AA/100 g dry drying.
matter. A slight loss of only 4.8 ± 9.7% was attained using
an air-drying temperature of 35C. However, significant
TAOC. Antioxidant compounds are gaining recognition as
vitamin C losses of 33.0 ± 7.8, 40.6 ± 8.3 and 55.5 ± 7.4%
key parameters in the prevention of oxidative stress respon-
were obtained for samples dried at 50, 70 and 85C, respec-
sible for chronic diseases. Thus, the antioxidant activity,
tively. These results demonstrate the significant impact of
mainly related to the presence of vitamins and polyphenols,
temperature on vitamin C degradation, the major loss being
constitutes an imperative quality parameter often evaluated
obtained at the highest tested temperature. Similar results
in foodstuffs. However, thermal treatments are believed to
were described by others regarding the air dying of collard
leaves (Alibas 2009), red pepper (Vega-Gálvez et al. 2009)
and okra (Pendre et al. 2012). According to Di Scala et al.
(2011), this could be explained by the irreversible oxidative
processes during drying. The sensitivity of this vitamin to
high temperatures was another explanation of the variable
losses of AA, under different drying temperatures (Pendre
et al. 2012). Moreover, the observed losses could also be
attributed to leaching of this vitamin as a consequence of
the water removal from the vegetable during the drying
process.

Total Phenolics. Phenolic compounds are also often

monitored during thermal processes. These compounds,
together with vitamin C, represent 80% of the TAOC of
plant materials (Podse˛dek 2007). The effect of the air-
drying temperature on the total phenolic content of dehy-
drated kale is presented in Fig. 6. In the fresh sample, a total
phenolic content of 1318 ± 82 mg of gallic acid/100 g dry
FIG. 6. TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT (EXPRESSED AS mg OF GALLIC
ACID [GA]/100 g DRY MATTER) OBTAINED FOR DEHYDRATED KALE
UNDER DRYING TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50, 70 AND 85C
Values with the same letter were not significantly different (P > 0.05).

2492 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.
FIG. 7. TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY (EXPRESSED AS mg OF
ASCORBIC ACID [AA]/100 g DRY MATTER) OBTAINED FOR FRESH AND
DEHYDRATED KALE UNDER DRYING TEMPERATURES OF 35, 50, 70
AND 85C
Values with the same letter were not significantly different (P > 0.05).
be the main cause of depletion of natural antioxidants in
food (Kaur and Kapoor 2001). Figure 7 shows the variation
of the TAOC obtained for fresh and dehydrated kale.
Undoubtedly, there is a negative correlation between the
antioxidant capacity and the drying temperature. The fresh
sample provided a TAOC value of 767.4 ± 72.9 mg
AA/100 g dry matter, and losses of approximately 50 and
70% were observed at the two lower and two higher drying
temperatures, respectively. These results show the adverse
effect that temperature plays on the antioxidant activity of
Galega kale during the drying process. This outcome may be
due to the above-mentioned vitamin C and total phenolic
content reductions, which occur during the dehydration
process.
Air drying of kale was previously described to result in a
decrease of 60% in the polyphenol content, the phenol
compounds being considered the major phytochemical con-
stituents responsible for antioxidative activity in plant mate-
rials (Korus 2011b). Moreover, according to Nindo et al.
(2003), heated air inherently exposes the products to oxida-
tion, thus reducing their total antioxidant activity. In con-
trast, the antioxidant activity was positively correlated with
the drying temperature, regarding the air drying of broccoli
(Mrkìc et al. 2006) and red pepper (Vega-Gálvez et al.
2009). According to these studies, higher processing tem-
peratures led to shorter drying times and resulted in
maximum antioxidant activities. Furthermore, generation
and accumulation of Maillard-derived melanoidins, having
different degree of antioxidant activity, could also enhance
antioxidant properties at high temperatures (Vega-Gálvez
et al. 2009). According to Nicoli et al. (1997), although
natural antioxidants are lost during heating, the overall
antioxidant properties of some foods could be maintained
Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE
or enhanced by the development of new antioxidants.
However, this enrichment process was not observed in the
present work, demonstrating that the drying process
employed on the dehydration of kale did not led to the for-
mation of new antioxidant compounds.
Chlorophylls. Chlorophylls are abundant pigments in
green vegetables, strongly related to the color characteris-
tics. Hence, it represents an important quality parameter,
reflecting the aspect of the final dried product, thus playing
a crucial role on the overall consumer’s acceptability. The
effect of the air-drying temperature on the chlorophylls
content in Galega kale is presented in Fig. 8. In relation to
chlorophyll a, retention percentages varied from 64.4 ± 5.6
to 91.1 ± 6.7%, using the highest and lowest air-drying tem-
peratures, respectively. The sample dried at the lowest tem-
perature did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) from the
fresh sample. However, for higher temperatures, decreasing
chlorophyll a contents were obtained. This effect was spe-
cially observed at 85C, which provided chlorophyll a losses
of 35.6 ± 5.6%. In relation to chlorophyll b, no significant
difference (P > 0.05) was obtained in fresh and dried
samples, indicating that the degradation of this pigment
was negligible during drying. This effect was found by
several authors and it is explained by the lower susceptibility
of chlorophyll b to pheophytin formation, in comparison to
chlorophyll a (Potisate and Phoungchandang 2010). In fact,
both chlorophylls are magnesium containing derivatives of
the tetrapyrrole phorbin, but these pigments present some
differences concerning the perceived color and thermal sta-
bility. Chlorophyll a appears blue-green, while chlorophyll b
yellow-green, and the b form is more resistant to heat
FIG. 8. CONCENTRATIONS OF CHLOROPHYLLS A, B AND A + B
(EXPRESSED AS mg OF CHLOROPHYLL/100 g DRY MATTER) OF FRESH
AND DEHYDRATED KALE AS A FUNCTION OF THE DRYING
TEMPERATURE
Values with the same letter in same chlorophyll type were not
significantly different (P > 0.05).
2493
EFFECT OF AIR DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF GALEGA KALE
treatment (Cui et al. 2015). Furthermore, during thermal
processing (or acidification), the central magnesium
atom of the porphyrin ring of chlorophyll is replaced by
two hydrogen atoms to form pheophytin, which is accom-
panied by an undesirable color change (Potisate and
Phoungchandang 2010).
Consequently, variations in the concentration of total
chlorophyll were mainly attributed to the decreases of chlo-
rophyll a as chlorophyll b remained practically constant.
Total chlorophyll retentions between 71.8 ± 6.7 and 97.0 ±
5.7% were attained at 85 and 35C, respectively. The decrease
of the chlorophyll retention with increasing air-drying tem-
peratures was also observed in other vegetables, such as
coriander leaves (Ahmed et al. 2001), parsley (Akbudak
and Akbudak 2013), amaranth and savoy beet (Negi and
Roy 2000, 2001b). Chlorophyll retentions of 70.3 and
61.1% were also reported in parsley and leafy vegetables,
respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The temperature effect on some quality and bioactive char-
acteristics of Galega kale dried by convective air drying was
evaluated in the temperature range of 35–85C. Within this
range, an increase of temperature caused a reduction of the
drying time and an increase of the drying rate. Further-
more, the characteristic drying rate curves consisted of a
single FRP, and CRP was absent.
Concerning color properties, the results allowed observ-
ing greater changes using higher temperatures. The values
of L* and a* decreased, while values of b* increased during
hot-air drying. Moreover, the values of chroma, TCD and BI
increased, whereas the hue angle decreased with the tem-
perature increase.
In relation to nutritional parameters, both vitamin C and
total phenolics decreased with the increase of air-drying
temperature. In fact, total phenolic compounds demon-
strated to be the quality parameter mostly affected by the
convective drying as negligible retention percentages were
obtained for all tested temperatures. The antioxidant activ-
ity was also affected by the drying temperature, although
similar retention values were attained at the two lower and
at the two higher temperatures. Degradation of chlorophyll
a was also more pronounced at higher temperatures,
whereas chlorophyll b presented high thermal stability,
remaining stable for all tested temperatures.
These results demonstrate that the convective drying of
Galega kale without any pretreatment leads to significant
quality deterioration, especially when high temperatures are
used. Important nutritive losses were registered after drying,
and the color parameters also indicated product worsening.
These are important aspects regarding the overall quality
and may be determinants for consumer’s acceptance of the
2494 Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 39 (2015) 2485–2496 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S.M. OLIVEIRA ET AL.
dried product. The use of pretreatments to prevent nutrient
degradation and to minimize color modifications will be
investigated in further studies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sara M. Oliveira, Inês N. Ramos and Teresa R. S. Brandão
gratefully acknowledged Fundação para a Ciência e a
Tecnologia (FCT) and Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) for the
financial support through the postdoctoral grants SFRH/
BPD/74815/2010, SFRH/BPD/75430/2010 and SFRH/BPD/
41419/2007, respectively.
This work was supported by National Funds from FCT
through project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0016/2013.
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