Vacuum drying of Chilean papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens) fruit pulp: effect of drying temperature on kinetics and quality parameters

• Published in: Journal of food science and technology Vol. 58; no. 9; pp. 3482 - 3492
• Main Authors: Vega-Gálvez, Antonio, Poblete, Jacqueline, Rojas-Carmona, Rodrigo, Uribe, Elsa, Pastén, Alexis, Goñi, María Gabriela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acarbose; Antioxidants; Ascorbic acid; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Flavonoids; Food; Food Science; Fruits; Glucose metabolism; Glucosidase; Moisture content; Nutrition; Original; Original Article; Papayas; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Pulp; Sugar; Vacuum; Vacuum drying; Water activity; α-Glucosidase; α-Glucosidase activity; antioxidant activity; Accelerated solvent extraction
• ISSN: 0022-1155; 0975-8402
• DOI: 10.1007/s13197-021-05005-8

Chilean papaya is grown in Central Chile and is considered to be an important source of fiber, sugars, and antioxidants. The effect of different vacuum drying temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C) on the composition of papaya pulp was evaluated. The inhibitory effect of papaya extracts on α-glucosidase activity, as a regulator of blood sugar, was also evaluated. Drying reduced water activity of the pulp to less than 0.6, thereby, assuring the product stability, while maintaining simple sugars, vitamin C, and total flavonoids. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity by DPPH assay increased with respect to the fresh pulp by 1.5 and 2.6 times, respectively. The inhibitory effect of papaya extracts on α-glucosidase was evaluated by determining the IC50 for each sample and the acarbose equivalents. The results indicate the suitability of the dried extract of Chilean papaya as a regulator of glucose metabolism in Type II diabetes patients.