Effect of Loading Density and Hot Air Temperature on Drying Characteristics and Quality of Stevia Leaves Dried under Solar Assisted Mechanical Tray Dryer Kaur Gundeep*, Sharma S R, Mittal T C, Alam M S 1Department of Processing and Food Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India *Corresponding author: gundeepkaur1996@gmail.com
Online Published on 19 April, 2024. Abstract A study was conducted to analyze the drying behavior of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves dried under open sun and in solar assisted mechanical tray dryer. The effect of drying methods on the quality characteristics of stevia leaves was also studied. The drying was done at different loading densities of 1.17, 2.34 and 3.51 kg/m2 in open sun drying and in case of solar assisted mechanical tray dryer, drying air temperatures also varied as 45, 55 and 65°C along with loading densities. The quality assessment in terms of color change, stevioside content, flavonoid content, protein content and crude fiber content proved drying of stevia leaves in solar assisted mechanical tray dryer was better as it also took less time as comparedto open sun drying. Also, 55°C temperature and 2.34 kg/m2 loading density of leaves was found to be the best combination in terms of drying behavior and quality of dried leaves. Top Keywords Flavonoid content, Protein content, Stevia, Stevioside content, Sun drying. Top |