Food and Bioprocess Technology (2021) 14:1028–1054

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-021-02646-7

REVIEW

Drying of Selected Major Spices: Characteristics and Influencing

Parameters, Drying Technologies, Quality Retention and Energy
Saving, and Mathematical Models
Prasanta Majumder 1 & Abhijit Sinha 1 & Rajat Gupta 1 & Shyam S. Sablani 2

Received: 23 November 2020 / Accepted: 13 April 2021 / Published online: 23 April 2021
# The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
Demand for value-added spices all year round has warranted suitable post-harvest processing, since most are non-perennial by
nature and perishable owing to enzymatic or maillard reactions and pathogenic microbial contamination. Drying involves the
minimization of biologically active water up to the safe water activity level and increases the shelf life. An optimized drying
technique is needed to be chosen critically because one particular drying condition suitable for a group of spices may be
detrimental for others. Therefore, the current review emphasizes the permissible ranges of influencing operating parameters,
comparative effects of several drying technologies on drying characteristics, and quality attributes of spices. The paper also
provided an up-to-date technological advancement in novel hybrid and staged drying to alleviate the shortcomings of a solo
drying technique. As drying is an energy-intensive process, pre-drying treatments and intermittent phenomena have also been
explored for energy saving with better quality retention. The paper also highlights the significance of thin layer modeling for
predicting the moisture transport phenomena during drying.

Keywords Drying characteristics . Hybrid drying . Quality of spices . Pretreatment . Intermittent drying

Introduction leads to higher export potential in many countries

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) de-
scribed the term spices as vegetable products or mixtures
thereof that enrich the flavoring and sensory attributes of cui-
sines (ISO, 1995). Secondary metabolites of spices act as di-
etary supplements to boost immunity and fight off various
ailments (Jessica Elizabeth et al., 2015). Although 109 spices
are produced all over the world, based on economic impor-
tance, ginger, turmeric, chili, black pepper, and cardamom are
termed as major spices, which contributes about 75–95%
share to spice trade industry (Chhetri et al., 2015). Onion is
one of the seven major agricultural crops produced worldwide
and valued by virtue of tangy and delectable flavor, which
* Abhijit Sinha
abhinit05@gmail.com
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of
Technology Mizoram, Aizawl 796012, India
2
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
(Netherland, China, India, Spain, etc.) (Sehrawat & Nema,
2018). Garlic is one of the most important crops of Asian
countries (China, India, Republic of Korea, etc.), which hold
an 89.4% share in the Global market (mainly European and
Gulf countries) (FAOSTAT, 2019). Meanwhile, spices are
characterized by delicate internal structure and highly perish-
able, which needs an effectual way of preservation to prolong
shelf life and value-addition (Majumdar, 2004).
Drying at the control environment is the usual post-harvest
preservation technique for agro-produce, which occurs by the
simultaneous actions of the vaporization of the surface mois-
ture and migration of interior moisture (Dinçer & Zamfirescu,
2016). Spices are dried by various conventional thermal and
non-thermal technologies. Direct solar or open sun drying
(OS) is the most favored in tropical regions since antiquity
for its simplicity and zero cost involvement. However, it relies
on weather conditions, and the product is susceptible to con-
tamination, and drying parameters are often difficult to con-
trol. Indirect solar drying and greenhouse drying (GH) can be
used to overcome the limitations of OS. Other than solar en-
ergy, biomass and geothermal energy are also used as alterna-
tive heat sources for supplying the drying medium (Ananno
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
et al., 2020; Janjai et al., 2011). Fluidized bed drying (FBD) is
considered a useful product handling method compare to con-
vective tray drying (free/forced) and hot air oven (HA) due to
better mixing of product with drying air and uniform distribu-
tion of drying medium throughout the samples. Other conven-
tional technologies generally applied for spice drying are di-
electric heating (radiofrequency and microwave), electromag-
netic heating like infrared (IR), far-infrared (FIR), etc., which
are based on radiation heat transfer and penetrate inside the
product, and results in faster removal of internal moisture
(Kudra & Mujumdar, 2009; Majumdar, 2004). There are,
however, some drawbacks with the thermal drying technolo-
gies, as they tend to alter thermo-labile compounds and phys-
ical properties (case hardening, shrinkage, microstructure,
etc.) of spices (Yanyang et al., 2004). To alleviate such diffi-
culties of thermal drying for heat-sensitive spices, demand for
non-thermal technologies integrated with conventional tech-
niques in a hybrid or staged manner are uprising. Non-thermal
drying technologies (ultrasound, vacuum, dehumidified air
drying, pulsed electric field, etc.) can operate at sublethal tem-
peratures. The usage of fossil fuel and excessive heat loss from
the dryer exhaust leads to exergy loss and environmental de-
terioration, which are much demanding to refine the energy
source and management (Delgado & de Lima, 2016).
Prior to drying operation, the important point is to prede-
termine the desired level of quality factors, which vary accord-
ing to storage duration (perennial flour, instant soup ingredi-
ents, convenience food, etc.) and target end-users (infant, se-
nior citizen, animal, etc.). Spices are mostly marketed in the
form of perennial flour and consumed by all age groups. The
attributes generally considered to ascertain the quality of
spices include chemical (phenols, terpenoids, vitamins), phys-
icochemical (antioxidant capacity, water activity,
rehydratability and shrinkage), biological (antimicrobial activ-
ity), and sensory (color, aroma, flavor, and texture) character-
istics. The disparity in the quality of food products is ensued
by various physicochemical, mechanical, and microbiological
mechanisms, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Due to the heat and mois-
ture sensitivity of spices, quality deterioration is mostly pro-
moted by prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures and
humid climatic conditions during drying. Drying is a highly
energy-intensive process, which consumes 12–15% of indus-
trial energy. Reducing energy consumption by 1–2% could
gain 10–15% more profit in a small-scale industry like food
processing (Beedie, 1995). Intermittent phenomena can be an
up-and-coming approach, where the tempering period is in-
troduced to reduce the energy consumption, overheating, and
internal moisture redistribution in the products (Kudra, 2004).
Mass transfer during drying is generally resisted by the cell
membrane in the product, which can be permeabilized by
pretreatment (George et al., 2017). Pretreatment also helps in
better quality retention in some spices by inhibiting undesir-
able chemical reactions.
1029
Fig. 1 Quality loss mechanisms in foods (Delgado & de Lima, 2016;
Rahman, 2007)
Various research works have been dedicated to reviewing
the drying characteristics and quality analyses of different
products such as agricultural crops (Onwude, Hashim, &
Chen, 2016a), aquatic products (Zhang et al., 2017), fruits
and vegetables (Omolola et al., 2015; Onwude et al., 2017;
Sablani, 2006), leaves (Babu et al., 2018), exotic tropical fruits
(Fernandes et al., 2011), and herbs (Chua et al., 2019). No
single drying technique is justifiable to be used for all types
of products because of unlike properties such as moisture
content (MC), bulk density, microstructure, particle-size dis-
tribution, hygroscopicity, and bioactive compounds
(Kowalski, 2007). Understanding the governing mechanisms
of drying for a particular group of products is very important
in designing and adopting a relevant drying system. Yet so far
there is no collective information on the relative effect of
various process parameters, conventional, and novel technol-
ogies (hybrid/staged, pretreatment, intermittency) in the dry-
ing of spices. Hence, this present review paper covers the
research findings on drying of selected major spices on the
following aspects: comparative effect of various conventional
and novel technologies and process parameters on drying
characteristics and quality of spices, the role of pretreatment
and intermittency on quality retention and reduction of active
drying time, and thin-layer modeling for drying of spices.
Drying Characteristics and Influencing
Parameters
Drying characteristics of any product can be defined by mois-
ture ratio (MR), moisture extraction rate, effective moisture
diffusion (Deff), and activation energy. The ideal characteristic
drying curve consists of a linear constant rate period, which
extends up to critical moisture content and follows by an
1030
exponential falling rate period up to the equilibrium moisture
content (Prakash & Kumar, 2017). Most of the spices are
structured by a multi-layer semi-permeable membrane,
through which only moisture can pass. While drying, moisture
concentration gradient occurred at the different layers, which
facilitates the interstitial moisture to migrate to the surface
through the cell wall membrane or tortuous capillary voids
(Asiah et al., 2017). In general, free (unbound) moisture evap-
oration is influenced by the temperature, flow rate, and rela-
tive humidity (RH) of the drying medium, and sample size
irrespective of the drying techniques.
Conventional Solo Drying Applications to Major
Spices
The drying characteristics of selected major spices viz. rhi-
zomes (ginger, turmeric), fruits (pepper, chili), and bulbs (gar-
lic, onion) affected by different solo conventional drying tech-
niques and process parameters are discussed below and salient
outcomes are presented in Table 1.
Ginger
The spice ginger is derived from the rhizomes of Zingiber
officinale (Roscoe) and generally traded as dried powder or
other value-added products. The fresh rhizome contains 85–
90% MC in wet basis (wb), which to be reduced up to 8–10%
(wb) for value-addition (Peter, 2012). Drying of ginger takes
place mostly in the falling rate period owing to unsaturated
surface moistness in sliced ginger. Though the flow rate of air
accelerates the drying rate, it turned into ineffective at a higher
temperature (Parlak, 2014; Thorat et al., 2010). Thorat et al.
(2010) obtained the activation energy of sliced ginger as
35.675 kJ/mol through the Arrhenius correlation of average
effective moisture diffusivity related to the absolute drying air
temperature. George et al. (2017) stated that with raising the
temperature from 55 to 85°C in forced convective tray drying
(FCTD), Deff of ginger was elevated from 2.03 × 10−9 to 4.87
× 10−9 m2s−1. Nevertheless, hot air drying at higher tempera-
ture caused severe fractures of parenchyma cells containing
starch grains and formed a denser structure in ginger rhi-
zomes, which reduces the moisture mobility at a later stage
of drying.
Heat pump drying (HP) increases the Deff due to lower RH
of drying air compared to other techniques (Phoungchandang
& Saentaweesuk, 2011). It was noted that for the constant air
temperature (40°C), with reducing the RH from 26.5 to
16.7%, the Deff was increased by 21.8%. Hawlader et al.
(2006) reported that the inert atmospheric (N2, CO2) heat
pump had a considerable effect on the drying rate due to
greater heat transfer capacity of N2 and CO2 than normal air,
which is caused by the higher specific heat and density of N2
and CO2 respectively. Microwave drying (MW) had higher
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
heat and mass transfer rate than other techniques because the
electromagnetic wave causes molecular oscillation and
generates heat at the inner core, which vaporizes the polar
liquid inside the hygroscopic spices. This enhances the
moisture mobility towards the surface due to vapor pressure
gradient. An et al. (2016) reported that to get the desired mois-
ture content, MW consumed only 2.7 kWh/g H2O energy in
1.8 h, while freeze drying (FD) consumed 33.7 kWh/g H2O in
44.5 h respectively. It was also found that HA and IR
consumed a moderate level of energy as 3.3 kWh/g H2O
and 12.23 kWh/g H2O, respectively. Huang et al. (2011) also
reported that FD (−80°C) consumed 14 h to get the desired
moisture content, while HA at 80°C and 70°C consumed only
2 h and 4 h, respectively. Integration of biomass furnace with
solar dryer reduces the drying time significantly (up to 50%)
compared to the solo solar dryer and makes the solar dryer
reliable even at off-sunshine hours (Prasad & Vijay, 2005).
Turmeric
Curcuma longa, the yellow tuberous root, is referred to as
turmeric, which possesses unique medicative values (Joe
et al., 2004). Turmeric contains 83–87% (wb) moisture con-
tent, which is reduced up to 11% (wb) in flour for shelf sta-
bility as per the Bureau of Indian Standards. Drying of tur-
meric is mostly performed after curing at a temperature of 80–
100°C. It was opined that the constant rate period was
completely absent in the drying of turmeric while the falling
rate period prevailed. Deff was found to enhance with raising
drying air temperature and reducing RH. Higher drying air
temperature led to an intensification of drying rate as com-
pared to air velocity (Singh, Arora, & Kumar, 2010a). It is
noteworthy to mention that activation energy signifies the
energy required to start off the moisture diffusion from the
interior of the samples. For instance, MW has the ability to
reduce activation energy compared to other techniques ascribe
to the volumetric heat transfer in succession to increased mois-
ture diffusivity (Surendhar et al., 2018). Lakshmi et al. (2018)
observed that indirect solar tray drying (STD) of turmeric
shorten the drying period by 60% compared to OS. It was also
inferred that the integration of energy storage increased the
overall efficiency of the dryer by 12%. Use of black PVC
sheet in OS is the simplest way to enhance the drying rate
due to an increase in solar radiation absorption capacity
(Pradeep et al., 2016).
Garlic
Garlic (Allium sativum) belongs to the Alliaceae family, the
demand of which has grown for flavorful bulbs and folk med-
icine (Aware & Thorat, 2011). Due to higher moisture content
in fresh garlic (70% wb), it often sprouts and degraded the
nutritional attributes. Hence, dehydration of garlic up to 6–
Table 1 Effect of conventional and novel drying techniques on drying characteristics of spices

Spices Drying Initial to final Process parameters Findings References

techniques MC (wb) and
sample size

Ginger IR, MW, FD, HA - to 10.7%, IR power: 675 W, MW energy density: 5 W/g until 50% MC followed by 1 W/g, - Drying time required in the order of FD An et al. (2016)
Cylindrical: freezing temperature: −40°C for 12 h, sublimation temperature 25°C at 20 Pa > HA > IR > MW
4×34 mm (abs), hot air temperature: 60°C - Energy consumed in the order of FD
> IR > HA > MW
HP (air, N2, CO2) - Temperature: 45°C, RH 10%, velocity: 0.7 m/s - Drying took place in falling rate period Hawlader et al.
Thickness: 3 mm - Faster drying rate observed in the order of N2 (2006)
> CO2 > air HP
FCTD, HP, 82.6 to 12% Temperature: 40–60°C, velocity: 0.5 m/s - HP shortened the drying time by 20% Phoungchandang
FC-HPD Thickness: 2 mm compared to FCTD and
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054

- Drying time reduced by 59.32% in FC- HPD Saentaweesuk

(2011)
FBD 89 to 5% Temperature: 40- 70 °C, RH: 4–15%, velocity: 3–5 m/s - Most of the drying took place under the falling Parlak (2014)
Thickness: 2 mm rate
- Air velocity turned ineffective at 70°C
temperature
MWFBD, FCTD 90 to 7.4% MW power: 0.6–1.8 W/g - MWFBD reduced the drying time by 4–12 Lv et al. (2016)
Thickness: 5 mm hot air temperature: 75°C, velocity: 1 m/s times than FCTD
- The energy consumption efficiency dropped in
the final stage
Turmeric STD 48 to 6.5% Temperature: 42.2–82.8°C - Constant drying rate was completely absent Karthikeyan and
- - Drying rate increased with increasing Murugavelh
temperature (2018)
MW 84.75 to 5–10% MW power: 270, 450, 720, and 900 W - Moisture diffusivity increased with Surendhar et al.
- microwave power (2018)
- Activation energy reduced in MW compared
to other techniques
FCTD 63.5 to 10% Temperature: 45–65°C, - The temperature had a larger effect on the Singh, Arora, and
- velocity: 1–3 m/s moisture extraction rate than air velocity Kumar (2010a)
OS, STD 73.4 to 8.5%, Temperature: 48°C, - Mixed- mode STD exhibited faster drying Lakshmi et al.
Cylindrical: RH: 22% with increased efficiency (2018)
30 × 5 mm
Garlic FBD, IR, DHA, 65 to 5.6%, Temperature: 40–60°C, RH: 35–45% (3–5% in HP), IR power: 3–3.6 kW - Drying rate escalated significantly with rising Aware and Thorat
VD, FD, Thickness: air temperature, infrared intensity and (2011)
FCTD 1, 2 mm reduced sample thickness.
FCTD 67 to 4.7% Temperature: 50–70°C, velocity: 0.1–1.7 m/s - Drying mostly took place in first falling rate Prachayawarakorn
- period et al. (2006)
FCTD, VD, N2 67.8 to - Temperature: 40–105°C - Drying rate increased with decreasing sample Rahman et al.
Thickness vacuum pressure: 80 kPa thickness (2009)
2–10 mm - VD and N2 atmosphere reduced the drying rate
FCTD, FD - Temperature: 40- 60°C, velocity: 2 m/s, sublimation: 20–60°C - Drying rate significantly increased with Ratti et al. (2007)
Thickness: 3 mm temperature up to 50°C
1031
Table 1 (continued)
1032

Spices Drying Initial to final Process parameters Findings References

techniques MC (wb) and
sample size

- Sliced sample had greater moisture extraction

rate than whole cloves
IR 70 to 6% (wb) IR intensity: 0.075–0.3 W/cm2 - Drying rate escalated with rising infrared Younis et al.
Thickness: 2.5 velocity: 0.75 and 1.25 m/s power and reducing air velocity (2018)
mm - Moisture diffusivity decreased with
decreasing moisture content
MWFBD - Temperature: 40 and 60°C, - Convective heat and mass transfer coefficient Abbasi Souraki
MW power: 2.13 and 3.75 W/g and moisture extraction rate increased and Mowla
(2008)
USCTD 67 to 9% Temperature: 50–70°C, velocity: 2.5 m/s, - USCTD reduced the drying time up to 50% Tao et al. (2018)
Thickness: 2.8 US intensities: 216.8, 902.7, 1513.5 W/m2 than CTD
mm - Ultrasound effect on moisture diffusivity
attenuated at higher temperature
Onion FCTD 90 to 10%, Temperature: 50–70°C. - Drying rate increased with air temperature Olalusi (2014)
Thickness: 2 mm velocity: 0.9 m/s - Most of the drying occurred under the falling
rate period
LPSSD, FCTD, - to 7% Temperature: 60–80°C, - VD had higher drying rate followed by Sehrawat and
VD Thickness: 3 mm Pressure: 10 kPa (abs) LPSSD and FCTD Nema (2018)
- High temperature LPSSD depicted significant
effect on drying rate
FD, FCTD, 90 to 6% Temperature: 45°C, MW power: 3.3 W/g, - FD consumed double time than that of FCTD Wang et al. (2018)
MWFD Size: 20 × 20 × freezing temperature: −20°C, sublimation: 45°C, pressure: 50 Pa - MWFD reduced the energy consumption and
2 mm drying time compared to solo FD
DHA (zeolite, - Temperature: 40–70°C - Zeolite was more effective in moisture Djaeni and
activated Thickness: 1 mm removal followed by silica gel and activated Perdanianti
carbon, silica carbon (2019)
gel)
IRCTD 88.4 to 5.6% IR intensity: 26.5–44.2 kW/m2 - Drying rate escalated with rising infrared Pathare and
Thickness: 6 mm temperature: 35–45°C, intensity, air temperature and with decreasing Sharma (2006)
velocity: 1–1.5 m/s velocity
Chili and STD 75 to 83% Temperature: 45–65°C (Oven), 31–45°C (STD), - Drying rate increased with temperature and air Castillo- Téllez
pepper - velocity: 0.7–2.6 m/s velocity while sample mass had little effect et al. (2016)
on drying rate
FCTD 74.4 to 10% Temperatures: 60–80°C, velocity: 1.5 m/s - Drying time reduced with increasing Yang et al. (2018)
- temperature
MWCTD 80 to 10% Temperature: 55–65°C, velocity: 1.5 m/s, - MWCTD reduced the drying time by Soysal et al. (2009)
- MW power: 597.2 W and 697.87 W 10.4–19.6 times than solo FCTD
MWIR, MW, 0.91×10−3 to Temperature: 55°C, velocity: 1.2 m/s, MW power: 100 W MWIR the energy consumption by 69% and Kowalski and
FCTD 0.023−0.037 8.3% compared to solo FCTD and MW Mierzwa (2011)
× respectively
10−4 kg/kg
USHA 92.4% to - Temperature: 70°C - USHA shortened the drying time by 18–23% Schössler et al.
US intensity: 24 kHz than solo HA (2012)
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054 1033

DHA dehumidified air drying, FBD fluidized bed drying, FC- HPD forced convective heat pump stage drying, FCTD forced convective tray drying, FD freeze drying, FIRMVD far infrared microwave

microwave drying, MWCTD microwave convective tray drying, MWFBD microwave fluidized bed drying, MWFD microwave freeze drying, MWIR microwave infrared drying, OS open sun drying, STD
- USCTD reduced the drying time by 32- 62% Cárcel et al. (2018)

vacuum drying, GH greenhouse drying, HA hot air oven drying, HP heat pump drying, IR infrared drying, IRCTD infrared convective tray drying, LPSSD low- pressure superheated steam drying, MW
7% (wb) moisture content is imperative to retarding spoilage

Saengrayap et al.
References and increasing market value. Dehydrated garlic flakes and
powder have emerged as a food additive and convenience

(2014)
foods.
As observed from Table 1, drying of garlic generally con-
ducted within the temperature range of 40–75°C and mostly

- FIRMVD reduced the drying time up to ~50%

- Drying mostly occurred in second falling rate
period, which was accelerated by ultrasound

- Effect of ultrasound reduced at temperature

reducing absolute pressure and increasing

occurred under the first falling rate period. It was found that

- Drying time significantly reduced with

the moisture removal of garlic was intensified with an increase
in temperature and other power intensity (MW, IR), due to an
increase in drying coefficient, lag factor, moisture diffusivity,
and mass transfer coefficient. Pseudo critical moisture content
far- infrared power of garlic reduced with increasing air temperature and velocity;
i.e., longer linear drying rate was observed at the higher tem-
than solo FCTD

exceeding 50°C

than solo MVD

perature (Prachayawarakorn et al., 2006). Low-oxygen drying
had no positive impact on drying rate due to reduced circula-
tion of moisture carrying medium, i.e., air (Rahman et al.,
Findings

2009). It was reported that nitrogen atmosphere drying had a

significant reduction in moisture diffusion and mass transfer
coefficient. FD induces a dry film, which retard the heat and
moisture transmission in the sample with progressing drying
Temperature: 30–70°C, velocity: 1 m/s, ultrasound power and intensity: 20.5

time (Aware & Thorat, 2011). It was also noted that the
highest moisture diffusivity (9.88 × 10−9 m2s−1) of garlic
solar tray drying, USCTD ultrasound convective tray drying, USHA ultrasound hot air oven drying, VD vacuum drying
far- infrared power: 100–300 W, vacuum pressure: 21.33–34.66 kPa

was obtained in heat pump drying compared to other

techniques.

Onion

Handling of fresh onion (Allium cepa) is cumbersome as

about 25–30% are reported to be damaged in storage due to
higher moisture content (86–90% wb). Dehydration is one of
the significant ways of value addition for onion and getting
focus by the international market in the form of flakes,
minced, rings, kibbles, powder, and oil. For making the
MW power: 100–300 W,
KW/m3 and 21.7 kHz

ready-to-use functional food ingredients, the onion should be

dried up to 4–6% (wb) (Peter, 2012).
Process parameters

As observed in the literature, the drying of onion mostly

took place under the falling rate period within 50 to 80°C
drying air temperature. As usual, the moisture extraction rate
of onion was highly influenced by temperature and RH of the
drying medium. The higher flow rate of air reduced the sur-
face temperature of onion as well as water vapor pressure and
Sample: 30 × 30
Sample: 10 ×10
MC (wb) and
Initial to final

consequence the reduced drying rate and consumed higher

sample size

85.5% to –
× 5 mm

× 5 mm
92 to 16%

specific energy (Pathare & Sharma, 2006). A similar result

was observed by Olalusi (2014) that amplified air velocity
reduced the drying rate in forced convective solar tray dryer
-

due to the lower heat capacity of air at higher velocity. Wang

et al. (2018) found that to get the desired moisture content in
techniques
Table 1 (continued)

dried onion, FD consumed 31% more energy compared to

FIRMVD
USCTD
Drying

FCTD. The infiltration of infrared waves into the product

triggers the water particles to oscillate, which lessen the ener-
gy to transport the water from the porous structure to the outer
Spices

layer and enhance the drying rate. Higher specific heat of

superheated steam made them useful for moisture extraction
1034
at low pressure superheated steam drying (LPSSD) (Sehrawat
& Nema, 2018). It was found that LPSSD depicted lower
drying rate at the early stage, which might be due to steam
condensation in contact of the cold surface of the product. The
dryer integrated with waste heat recirculation can significantly
improve the thermodynamic efficiency by preheating the dry-
ing air. However, Mortezapour et al. (2017) observed that
drying time was increased by 10% as the RH increased from
7 to 17% during recirculation of the drying air.
Chili and pepper
Chili (Capsicum annuum/Capsicum frutescens) and pepper
(Piper nigrum/Piper longum/Piper guineense) are the only
genera which contain capsaicinoids and often used as savory
food additives and colorant (Wahyuni et al., 2013). It is note-
worthy that drying of chili increases its value by providing
intense color and other quality attributes. The optimum mois-
ture content of dried chili and pepper is 10–11% (wb), at
which shelf stability can be retained (Peter, 2012). Drying of
chili and pepper mainly occurred under the second falling rate
period and stimuli accelerated by air temperature and other
power intensity (Yang et al., 2018). Cárcel et al. (2018) re-
ported that raising the temperature by 40°C reduced the drying
time of chili by 88.5%. By dropping the pressure inside the
dryer, the boiling point of water could be reduced below
100°C that intensify the evaporation of surface moisture
(Saengrayap et al., 2014). Forced convective solar tray dryer
exhibited faster drying as compared to OS, which undergoes
fluctuation in air temperature (Castillo-Téllez et al., 2016).
Increasing the drying time reduces the exergy efficiency and
improvement potential of the drying system, which results in
the reduction of exergetic sustainability index (Akpinar,
2019). Kowalski and Mierzwa (2011) observed that for drying
of red bell pepper (up to 0.023−0.037×10−4 kg/kg wet basis),
FCTD (55°C, 1.2 m/s) consumed 3.55 kWh energy while
MW (power 100 W) consumed only 1.2 kWh, respectively.
The specific energy consumption increases with the increase
in air velocity at constant heat supply (Nasiroglu &
Kocabiyik, 2007).
In light of the above discussion, it is inferred that drying of
spice rhizomes and bulbs is principally governed by the inter-
nal moisture diffusion during the falling rate period. At the
initial stage of the falling period, liquid diffusion of moisture
is dominating, followed by vapor diffusion with further prog-
ress. A usual trend of increased drying rate was observed at
higher energy input for all kinds of spices owing to rise in
vapor pressure within the product. The minimum temperature
required for effective drying of any spices is recommended at
40°C. On the other hand, further research works are required
to understand the influence of air velocity on drying charac-
teristics. Among various conventional solo drying techniques,
MW is comparatively faster and economically cheaper, while
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
FD is comparatively slower and energy-consuming technique.
It is imperative to highlight that dehumidification of drying air
is an important aspect in the effective removal of moisture
even at lower air temperature.
Homogenous drying is the key factor for bulk product qual-
ity and is very challenging. Conventional solo drying tech-
niques cause a greater nutritional loss in spices due to non-
uniform drying and longer duration. Such dryers also exhibit
lower thermodynamic performance. The main disadvantage in
solo convective tray drying is the drastic reduction in moisture
removal rate during the falling rate period. If the hot air supply
is continued over the unsaturated surface, internal moisture
does not get sufficient time to migrate, and case hardening
will occur. Therefore, shortening the falling rate period is rec-
ommended for quality dried spices with reduced energy con-
sumption (Lv et al., 2016). Due to the uneven distribution of
electromagnetic fields, MW causes local scorching and un-
even drying (Drouzas & Schubert, 1996). At the early stage
of drying, higher microwave energy is absorbed by a large
number of dipole molecules existing at the moist outer layer.
The absorbed microwave power is transformed into heat and
expedite the heating of the product surface (McLoughlin et al.,
2003). The aforementioned problems of conventional solo
drying can be alleviated by the integration of advanced tech-
nologies viz. ultrasound, radiofrequency, pulse wave, and FIR
Need for Novel Hybrid and Staged Drying
Technologies
Hybrid and staged drying systems are gaining popularity now-
adays and can be the best practice for effective drying with
efficient energy usage and retention of quality of the products.
Every drying technique has individual advantages and limita-
tions. So, combining two or more techniques in a hybrid man-
ner is a novel approach to enhance the overall performance by
the synergistic effect (Raso & Barbosa-Cánovas, 2003). In
staged drying, products are dried by one technique for a cer-
tain period followed by another, which may or may not be
repeated cyclically as well. Alternatively, more than two tech-
niques may also be applied simultaneously in an optimized
manner. The effect of novel hybrid and staged drying technol-
ogies on spices are discussed below and presented briefly in
Table 1.
Application of convective tray drying followed by apply-
ing microwave energy in a staged manner (MWCTD) can
easily evaporate the surface moisture, which will reduce the
activity of water dipoles and reduce the chances of surface
burning (Figiel et al., 2010). Soysal et al. (2009) found that
MWCTD of red pepper reduced the drying time by 10–20
times than solo convective tray drying. The integration of
microwave energy with FD (MWFD) has the potential to
overcome the shortcomings of solo FD such as higher energy
consumption (Wang et al., 2018). It was reported that the
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
drying time of onion was reduced by 39.29% as compared to
solo FD. It was found that solo FD consumed 8.95×105 kJ/kg
energy, while MWFD consumed only 7.17×105 kJ/kg. FBD is
a highly energy-intensive process and having difficulties in
fluidizing wet samples, which can be overcome by integrating
HA or MW with FBD (Abbasi Souraki & Mowla, 2008).
Radiofrequency wave, when combined with convective
tray dryer (RFCTD), an additional driving force for effective
moisture removal, is enforced due to the internal heat genera-
tion even at lower drying temperature (Madhava Naidu et al.,
2016). It was noted that effective moisture diffusivity of dill
greens was enhanced from 5.26 × 10−9 m2s−1 (in solo CTD) to
6.05 × 10−9 m2s−1 (in RFCTD). Meetha et al. (2016) exam-
ined the effect of pulsed microwave energy (0.5–1.445 kW)
assisted hot air drying (45°C) of nutmeg mace (Myristica
fragrans). Pulsed microwave facilitated the loosening of
bound moisture of mace and subsequently enhanced its re-
moval by hot air. Integration of far infrared along with micro-
wave vacuum (FIRMVD) dryer accelerated the drying rate as
compared to a solo microwave vacuum dryer because FIR
generated additional thermal energy and caused a larger ther-
mal gradient (Supmoon & Noomhorm, 2013). Saengrayap
et al. (2014) reported that FIRMVD of chili reduced the drying
time up to 87% depending upon vacuum pressure, microwave
power, and infrared power. Shorter duration and faster
moisture transfer could restrict the structural collapse and
form a more porous structure in dried Chili, which improved
the quality as regards reducing hardness and shrinkage, and
increasing rehydration ability. Kowalski and Mierzwa (2011)
observed that microwave energy when combined with the
infrared power (MWIR), it can reduce the energy consump-
tion by 8.3% in drying of red bell pepper.
Moisture diffusion during the second falling rate drying of
hygroscopic spices (onion, garlic, pepper, etc.) depends upon
the internal pore formation and solid-liquid interface (Peter,
2012; Balasubramanian et al., 2016). Integrating ultrasonic
waves with the conventional drying methods increase the cel-
lular moisture diffusion due to the sponge (successive com-
pression and expansion) behavior of ultrasound. Sonic turbu-
lence generates an intense micro-stirring or cavitation, which
reduces the boundary layer thickness at the gas-solid interface
and changes the microstructure (Tao & Sun, 2014). Schössler
et al. (2012) reported that ultrasound-assisted hot air oven
drying (USHA) of red bell pepper escalated the effective
moisture diffusivity by around 60% in the second falling rate
period. Ultrasonic waves also reduce the viscosity of water
and cause rarefactions of products, therefore accelerate inter-
nal moisture transport (Cárcel et al., 2018). The relative sig-
nificance of ultrasound on drying performance is most pre-
dominant at moderate drying air temperature (50°C) since
similar findings can be achieved when the drying temperature
is increased by just 20°C without the application of ultra-
sound. Tao et al. (2018) inferred that ultrasound convective
1035
tray drying (USCTD) of garlic improved the drying rate by
increasing the effective diffusion coefficient and surface mois-
ture transfer.
From the above discussion, it is observed that drying of
spices in a hybrid or staged manner exhibited, in general,
positive effects as regard drying time, energy consumption,
and physicochemical quality retention. Shorter penetration
and non-uniform heating make it difficult for the use of MW
and IR on an industrial scale. Radiofrequency energy is
endowed with such advantages as longer wavelength and
deeper penetration. However, uncontrolled and non-uniform
heating is still challenging in the application of radiofrequency
technology (Zhou & Wang, 2018). Hence, it is recommended
to use radiofrequency with conventional hot air, vacuum, or
heat pump in a hybrid manner (Hay et al., 2019).
Electrohydrodynamic drying is another emerging non-
thermal drying technique, which can be a viable alternative
to conventional drying of heat-sensitive spices (Martynenko
et al., 2019). It is worth exploring to investigate the effects of
novel hybrid and staged drying on energy utilization and qual-
ity retention of all spices.
Effect of Different Drying Technologies
on the Quality of Spices
The quality and acceptability of spices to the end-users are
characterized by the concentration of secondary metabolites,
mainly terpenes, alkaloids, and phenols. Essential oil, oleores-
in, and organoleptic compounds extracted from spices have
higher market potential as a food ingredient and antioxidant.
The unique sensory characteristics (aroma and flavor) viz.
pungent (ginger, onion, garlic), bitter (turmeric), hot (chili
and pepper), spicy (ginger, turmeric), and sulfury (onion, gar-
lic) enriches the value of spices. These are due to the presence
of flavonoids and volatile oil containing terpenoids and their
oxygenated derivatives. These compounds are highly prone to
heat, light, oxygen, and moisture. Drying is considered to be
the value addition process, ascribed to increasing shelf life
with yielding of the strong flavor, pungency, and colorant in
dried spices. Indeed, the quality attributes may alter or deteri-
orate by undesirable chemical reactions under non-conductive
drying conditions. The influence of drying on the quality at-
tributes of spices is discussed below and presented in Table 2.
Chemical Characteristics
Phenols
Phenols are the group of biologically active non-volatile func-
tional compounds derived from plants. Phenolic constituents,
including flavonoids, are allied with the fragrance and pun-
gency of spices. These also act as a protective antioxidant and
Table 2 Effect of drying on quality attributes of spices
1036

Spices Drying techniques Findings References

Ginger FCTD - Dried ginger exhibited higher TPC (20–23%), antioxidant activities and color attributes within 60–80°C Thuwapanichayanan et al. (2014)
HA - 6- , 8- , and 10- gingerol increased by 1.5- 3 times in dried ginger Lv et al. (2016)
FCTD - With increasing the temperature from 55 to 85°C, content of 6-gingerol as well as oleoresin yield reduced by 53.98% George et al. (2017)
and 57.31% respectively
HA, FD - Drying temperature exceeding 70°C resulted in a lower yield of terpenes and 6- gingerol Huang et al. (2011)
OS, GH, HA - With increasing temperature, essential oil reduced due to decomposition/evaporation, Ghasemzadeh et al. (2018)
while antioxidant and antimicrobial activities increased due to higher shogaol content.
FC- HPD - FC- HPD staged drying exhibited higher color, rehydratability (16.26%), and 6- gingerol (6%) content Phoungchandang and
Saentaweesuk (2011)
HA, FD, OS - Drying of ginger increased TPC and antioxidant activities in the order of OS<FD<HA (50- 60°C) Chumroenphat et al. (2011)
HP (air, N2, CO2), FD, VD - 6- gingerol retained by the order of VD > CO2 heat pump > N2 heat pump > FD > air HP Hawlader et al. (2006)
HA, ID, FD, MW - FD and IR exhibited better output in content of gingerol, phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activities An et al. (2016)
- MW followed by HA negatively correlated with all the attributes
HA, DHA (silica gel), MW - MW (up to 700 W) and silica gel drying retained better terpene concentration Huang et al. (2012)
Turmeric MW - With increasing microwave power redness increased while curcumin content reduced Surendhar et al. (2018)
- Porous structure formed in dried sample and pore size increased with increasing microwave power
MVD - Increased curcuminoids concentration, TPC, antioxidant activities and color intensity after drying Hirun et al. (2014)
OS - Lightness increased with drying time while yellowness and redness reduced Sharma et al. (2018)
- Curcumin content reduced in the dried sample
FCTD - Volatile oil reduced while antioxidant activities increased after drying Kutti Gounder and
Lingamallu (2012)
OS - Turmeric oil, oleoresin and antioxidant activities reduced after drying Singh, Kapoor, et al. (2010b)
OS, STD - TPC, TFC, antioxidant activities and natural color highly degraded in OS followed by STD Lakshmi et al. (2018)
Garlic FCTD, FD, FBD, IR, VD, HP, HP-FBD, - FD, HP, HP- FBD, HA- FBD, and VD (40°C) of thicker sample retained higher content of allicin, Aware and Thorat (2011)
HA- FBD protein and natural color, while drying at high- temperature FCTD and infrared power degraded all the attributes
severely
HA, MWV- HA, FD - MWV- HA and FD exhibited better pungency, color, shrinkage, rehydratability, and softer structure Cui et al. (2003)
FCTD, FD - Allicin potential reduced with increasing drying temperature Ratti et al. (2007)
- FD at 20°C exhibited 14% more allicin content than fresh garlic
FCTD, VD, N2 - Allicin content could be better retained within 50°C temperature in FCTD Rahman et al. (2009)
- Low- oxygen drying (VD and N2) had no impact on allicin retention
FCTD - With increasing temperature shrinkage and volatile oil content reduced, Prachayawarakorn et al. (2006)
while pore size, degree of porosity, and degree of browning increased
USCTD, FD - USCTD exhibited higher content of thiosulfinates, TPC, and antioxidant activities, Tao et al. (2018)
while FD exhibited richest content of organosulfur compounds and bright white color
Onion LPSSD, VD, HA - Better retention of thiosulphinate, TPC, antioxidant activities, color, Sehrawat and Nema (2018)
and rehydratability in the order of LPSSD > VD > HA
- High temperature and prolong drying time prompted quality degradation
FCTD - TPC, TFC and antioxidant activities significantly increased after drying up to 70°C Celia Roman et al. (2019)
- Rehydration ratio slightly increased with increasing temperature up to 70°C
HA, FD - Extractability of onion oil increased after drying, nevertheless, Gao et al. (2018)
the compounds of fresh onion were decomposed
- HA retained higher content of sulfocompounds than FD
HA, FD, MWFD - HA had higher antioxidant activities, however deteriorated the total color to some extent Wang et al. (2018)
- FD obtained higher extraction rate of flavonoids and lower color change higher
- MWFD increased brightness and antioxidant activities
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054 1037

inhibit the oxidation of lipids and proteins of the cell mem-

Bianchi and Lo Scalzo (2018)

brane (Oteiza et al., 2005).
The strong pungency of ginger is caused by non-volatile

Saengrayap et al. (2014)

Toontom et al. (2012)
phenols, predominately gingerols (6-, 8-, and 10-gingerol)

Sharma et al. (2015)

Cárcel et al. (2018)

Yang et al. (2018)
followed by shogaols and zingerone. Total phenolic content
(TPC) of ginger increased after drying, owing to the release of
References

bound phenolic amalgams by the destruction of cellular tis-

sues (Lv et al., 2016; Thuwapanichayanan et al., 2014).
However, drying at a higher temperature (>70°C) decomposes
- Surface color pigments decayed by 30–60% after drying and heat sensitivity of pigments were in the order of lightness

the active compound 6-gingerol into shogaol and zingerone

by thermal cracking of β-hydroxyl keto functional group pres-
ent in gingerol (George et al., 2017). Huang et al. (2011)
found that HA at 80°C lead to a higher transformation rate
(12.73%) of 6-gingerol to 6-shogaol and zingerone, while
- The average retentions of L, a, and b parameters were about 84%, 67%, and 88%, respectively

intermediate HA (40–70°C) and FD transformed only 3.5–

- Integration of far infrared with microwave vacuum obtained better quality as regards color,

5.5%. Ghasemzadeh et al. (2018) reported that longer drying

at excessive temperature (>150°C) significantly reduced the
- Capsaicin content and hotness increased after drying irrespective of drying method
- Ultrasound had no significant effect on TPC, vitamin- C, and antioxidant activities

shogaol content due to degradation and polymerization. An

- GH increased the overall acceptability in terms of higher TPC, vitamin- C, flavor,

et al. (2016) observed that MW greatly reduced the TPC

(~30%) and decomposed 6-gingerol into 6-shogaol owing to
- Non enzymatic browning increased with increasing drying temperature

rapid intense heating. FD yields the highest extraction as well

as TPC due to the snapping of the cellular structure induced by
the formation of ice crystals within it. It was also reported that
IR of ginger exhibited a 7.6% increase in total flavonoid con-
- Higher phytochemicals content retained at 50°C FCTD

tent (TFC) compared to fresh samples by breaking down of

- FD retained higher volatile concentration than FCTD

covalent bonds and liberation of flavonoids, carotene, tannin,

- FD retained better color and vitamin- C content

flavoprotein, etc. Heat pump drying with inert gas (N2, CO2)
has the ability to retain more 6-gingerol than atmospheric air
rehydratability, shrinkage, and texture

(Hawlader et al., 2006). It was ascribed that CO2 can generate

an acidic environment in contact with moisture, which helps
and sugar as compared to HA

to reform gingerol by condensation of zingerone and alde-

hydes. It was reported that oxidation of gingerol in atmospher-
< redness < yellowness

ic air heat pump drying reduced the 6-gingerol concentration

by about 45% than that in an inert environment.
Curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxy curcumin, bis-
demethoxy curcumin, 5′-methoxycurcumin,
Findings

dihydrocurcumin, cyclocurcumin) are the principal constitu-

ent in turmeric, which are attributed to its medicinal and other
biological activities (Maheshwari et al., 2006). Turmeric pow-
der should have ≥2% curcumin to meet the quality standard as
per Bureau of Indian Standards (IS 3576., 2010). Drying up to
100°C has no significant effect on curcuminoid concentration;
however, it is highly prone to the moisture content of turmeric
and RH of drying air. Gan et al. (2016) reported that with
reducing 20% RH, curcumin content increased by about
Drying techniques

21%. TPC in turmeric correlates with the inactivation of poly-

OS, HA, FD

phenol oxidase (PPO), which is thermally unstable after 60°C.

FCTD, FD

FIRMVD
HA, GH

USCTD
Table 2 (continued)

Nevertheless, non-enzymatic oxidation of polyphenol at

FCTD

≥100°C sharply reduced the TPC (Hirun et al., 2014;

Prathapan et al., 2009). Lakshmi et al. (2018) observed the
negative impact of thermal drying (50°C) on TPC and TFC in
pepper
Chili and
Spices

black turmeric (Curcuma caesia). Turmerone, curlone, and

turmerol are the principal volatile oil compounds responsible
1038
for aroma in turmeric (IS 3576., 2010). Kutti Gounder and
Lingamallu (2012) reported that volatile oil of dried turmeric
reduced significantly, which may be due to the destruction of
oil cell during the grating of the rhizome, and consequently, let
out the oil at high temperature during drying.
The characteristic flavor and pungency of garlic are asso-
ciated with pyruvate and thiosulfinates, 60–80% of which is
constituted by allicin (diallyl thiosulfinates). It is a reactive
and thermo-labile substance that decomposed readily once it
is formed after fragmentation (Han et al., 1995). Aware and
Thorat (2011) investigated that hot air and IR at a higher
temperature (60°C) and infrared power (3.6 kW) exhibited
severe destruction of allicin, while FD of thicker sample
retained higher allicin content (97.2%). It was attributed that
a thicker sample reduces the expelling of alliinase and
preserves the alliinase activity. The study reported by Cui
et al. (2003) revealed that FD and microwave vacuum-hot
air (45°C) staged drying (MWV-HA) can retain 97.8% and
88.8% pyruvate, whereas solo hot air drying (60–65°C) can
retain only 54%. Ratti et al. (2007) reported that the tempera-
ture greater than 50°C had a significant reduction in allicin
potential and structural collapse. Higher exposed areas greatly
influenced the release of alliinase, which reacted with the
alliin in contact with water and formed unstable allicin.
Thus, allicin potential reduced in thin samples compared to
thicker ones. Moreover, a thicker sample is subjected to lower
structural damage, which helps to preserve more allicin
(Rahman et al., 2009). It was also reported that low oxygen
drying (vacuum, N2 atmosphere) had a negative impact on
allicin content due to prolong drying time. In contradiction,
allicin content in dried garlic sometimes increases at a higher
temperature, which is due to the decomposition of allyl-S-
cysteine sulfoxide to thiosulfinates at a higher temperature
(Fennema, 1996). Integration of ultrasound with hot air drying
(USHA) enriches the quality of garlic by reducing the drying
time (Tao et al., 2018). It was found that USHA at 60°C
temperature and 902.7 Wm−2 ultrasound intensity possessed
higher TPC, organosulfur compounds, and thiosulfinates (up
to 21.6%) compared to solo hot air drying.
The pungent principle of onion is evaluated by the concen-
tration of thiosulphinate and pyruvic acid, which tend to de-
grade at high temperatures during drying (Mitra et al., 2012).
Sehrawat and Nema (2018) reported that LPSSD at 70°C
retained better TPC (90%) and thiosulphinate content (77%)
in dried onion, whereas vacuum drying (VD) retained TPC
and thiosulphinate up to 84% and 65%, respectively, and HA
(60-80°C) retained only up to 74% and 54%, respectively. It
was ascribed that the absence of oxygen in LPSSD inhibited
the oxidation and non-enzymatic reaction of TPC and
thiosulphinate compounds. Gao et al. (2018) reported that
the principal volatile compounds of onion, dipropyl disulfide
and dispropyl trisulfide (responsible for strong flavor), were
thermally decomposed into dimethyl sulfides and thiophenes
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
(responsible for a sweet flavor and caramel) respectively, after
drying. Although the content of sulfocompounds reduced after
hot air drying, the onion oil obtained was more stable and
contained highly concentrated functional compounds. The
low temperature in FD inactivated the enzymes responsible
for chemical reactions and thus resulted in a lower content of
sulfocompounds. To some extent, a contradictory result was
observed by Celia Roman et al. (2019) as TPC of Angaco
INTA onion increased twice after drying (up to 70°C); the
possible reason was the breakdown of cellular tissues during
drying that prompted the release of bound phenols. Sample
shape has a notable impact on the phytonutrients of dried
onion (Cecchi et al., 2020). It was reported that onion flakes
contain greater flavonoid contents (3.56 mg g−1) compared to
onion rings (2.04 mg g−1), and the number of volatile com-
pounds was also three times higher in onion flakes than rings.
The pungency of chili and pepper is characterized by the
concentration of capsaicinoids, 90% of which contributed by
capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin (Bianchi & Lo Scalzo, 2018).
Thermal drying of chili caused cell disruption and resulted in
improved capsaicin content compared to fresh one due to
higher extraction ability (Schweiggert et al., 2006). Bianchi
and Lo Scalzo (2018) reported that FCTD (50°C) of pepper
had better retention of capsaicinoids than the freeze-dried
sample. It was also found that drying at 50°C exhibited a
higher Scoville heat unit (23,621) compared to FD (15,898).
It is imperative to highlight that HA at higher temperatures
reduces the volatile compounds such as 2-isobutyl-3-
methoxypyrazine, which is a characteristic volatile compound
of green pepper.
Terpenes
Terpene is the major component of essential oil, and it con-
tains the largest group of secondary metabolites. The terpe-
noids have expansive industrial applications as natural savors
and scents, pharmaceuticals, insecticides, and anti-microbial
agents. The terpene compounds of ginger, responsible for fra-
grant flavor, include zingiberene, β-bisabolene, α-farnesene,
β-phellandrene, camphene, β-sesquiphellandrene, geranial,
and α-curcumene. Ginger oil is classically defined by a rich
content of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, including zingiberene,
ar-curcumene, β-bisabolene, and β-sesquiphellandrene. An
et al. (2016) observed that ginger drying with hot moist air
at elevated temperature decomposed the volatile compounds
and degraded the sesquiterpenes into monoterpenes. It also
formed many esters like propanoic acid, 2-methyl-3,7-dimeth-
yl-2,6-octadienyl ester, and bornyl acetate by esterification of
alcohols. It was also reported that when the drying tempera-
ture of ginger exceeded 70°C, gelatinization of starch started
and fractured the parenchyma cell (as shown in Fig. 2), which
eventually reduced the volatile oil extraction (Huang et al.,
2011). Huang et al. (2012) found that MW followed by
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
Fig. 2 Micrograph of dried ginger: a freeze drying; b hot air drying at 80 °C (Huang et al., 2011)
dehumidified air drying (DHA) using silica gel exhibited bet-
ter retention of major terpene compounds (zingiberene, β-
bisabolene, α-curcumene, and β-sesquiphellandrene), howev-
er, reduced the geranial and camphene content. It was also
observed that dried ginger had a lower concentration of α-
pinene, β-pinene, limonene, and β-phellandrene, compared
to fresh ginger.
Turmerone and ar-turmerone are considered to be the ma-
jor ketonic sesquiterpenes that are accountable for the aroma
of turmeric. As well, α-phellandrene, sabinene, cineol, borne-
ol, p-cymene, β-sesquiphellandrene, and sesquiterpene are
also present in turmeric oil. Kutti Gounder and Lingamallu
(2012) reported that ar-turmerone was increased by 25% in
dried turmeric, while α- and β-turmerone reduced significant-
ly. The low boiling point and high volatility resulted in the
decaying of monoterpenes compounds during drying. Singh,
Kapoor, et al. (2010b) reported that α-santalene and ar-
curcumene increased after drying, while α- and β-turmerone
reduced by oxidation/polymerization, which may be attributed
to the absence of aromatic ring and existence of two conjugat-
ed double bonds. Thermal drying of chili and pepper leads to
the decomposition of natural volatile compounds, which are
responsible for fruity, flowery, green mint, and spicy odor
notes (Bianchi & Lo Scalzo, 2018). It was reported that hot
air drying (50–64°C) of pepper reduced the concentration of
major terpenoids in dried pepper viz. linalool, α-copaene and
γ-himachalene, α-ionone, and cis, trans-nerolidol.
Vitamins
The nutritional value of spices is enriched by different vita-
mins present in the spices (for turmeric: vitamin-A, C, E, K,
riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, folate; for chili and pepper: vi-
tamin-C, E; for onion: vitamin-A, C, E; for garlic: pyridoxine,
vitamin-C) (Peter, 2012). Tocopherol and ascorbic acid are the
natural antioxidants present in spices (Balasubramanian et al.,
2016). Vitamin-C is highly prone to oxidation in contact with
heat and light and decomposes into L-dehydroascorbic acid,
1039
carbonyl, and other reactive compounds (Gregory III, 2008).
Shortening of exposure time can preserve better content of
vitamin-C even at an elevated drying temperature (Cárcel
et al., 2018). Bianchi and Lo Scalzo (2018) inferred that FD
had better retention of vitamin-C and E in hot pepper.
Convective drying (>60°C) reduced the tocopherol content
by more than 50%. It is also found that due to the presence
in seed, γ-tocopherol had higher retention compared to α-
tocopherol which is generally contained in the flesh and skin
of the pepper. Compared to FD, convective drying reduced the
vitamin-C content by 12–45.6%. The consequence was anal-
ogous with the findings of Toontom et al. (2012) which con-
veys that FD can retain 98% vitamin-C in dried chili.
Influence on Physicochemical and Biological
Characteristics
Antioxidant Activity
Antioxidant activity measures the inhibition ability of oxida-
tion in food products and is linearly proportional to the TPC
(Chumroenphat et al., 2011). Spices get considerable attention
as pharmacological supplements to defend against reactive O2
and N2 species of biological molecules (Kutti Gounder &
Lingamallu, 2012). 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH),
ferric-reducing ability power (FRAP), 2,2′-Azino-bis (3-
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and cupric
ion reducing capacity (CUPRIC) are found to be used as an-
tioxidant parameters for agro produce due to the reliability and
adequacy (Ghasemzadeh et al., 2018).
6-Shogaol, the strongest antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,
and anti-cancer constituent, is generally absent in fresh ginger
but formed at high-temperature thermal processing (Bhattarai
et al., 2001). Hence, the thermal drying of ginger is sometimes
recommended to enhance its curative effect by the formation
of shogaol (Hawlader et al., 2006). Ghasemzadeh et al. (2018)
stated that HA (150°C) dried ginger exhibited a lower effec-
tive concentration (IC50) based on DPPH, which signifies that
1040
the extract has the ability to scavenge a corresponding number
of free radicals at a lesser concentration. Antioxidant activities
of turmeric depend upon the presence of abundant curcumi-
noids and other major constituents of oleoresin and turmeric
oil (α- turmerone, ar-turmerone, curcumene, santalene, sitos-
terol, etc.) (Singh, Kapoor, et al., 2010b). Dried turmeric pow-
der showed larger antioxidant activities compared to fresh one
due to the higher concentration of ar-turmerone in turmeric oil
(Kutti Gounder & Lingamallu, 2012). In contrast, Singh,
Kapoor, et al. (2010b) and Lakshmi et al. (2018) observed
lower antioxidant activities in dried turmeric which might be
due to the significant loss of α- and β-turmerone by oxidation
and polymerization.
Antioxidant activities in onion are attributable to contain-
ing polyphenols, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid (Sehrawat &
Nema, 2018). Flavonols and anthocyanins are the main sub-
classes of flavonoids present in onions and responsible for
protective antioxidant activities (Wang et al., 2018). The poly-
phenol of onion decreased with the escalating temperature and
drying time. Hence, it was inferred that LPSSD (having lower
drying temperature and time) exhibited better antioxidant ac-
tivities (relative inhibition) in dried onion compared to VD
and HA. Wang et al. (2018) found that hot air drying has
higher antioxidant capacities and this was attributed to the
formation of oxidation-resistant substances like glucose.
Celia Roman et al. (2019) also reported that antioxidant activ-
ities of Angaco INTA onion significantly increased after dry-
ing (up to 70°C) owing to the development of new compounds
by maillard reaction/caramelization. Antioxidant activities of
chili and pepper are characterized by the presence of
capsaicin, which is generally increased after drying. Arslan
and Özcan (2011) reported that HA at high temperature
(70°C) and high microwave power (700 W) significantly in-
creased the antioxidant activities of red bell pepper.
Water Activity
Water activity (aw) contributes to shelf life in regard to the
chemical and biochemical reactions, and cellular and biolog-
ical matrices in foods (Chirife & Fontana, 2008). Balancing
water activity within the prescribed limit is crucial to inhibit
the spoilage due to the microbial attack and to maintain quality
parameters such as appearance, aroma, flavor, texture, and
microstructure (Sablani et al., 2007). It is the ratio of the partial
vapor pressure of moist product (p) to the saturated vapor
pressure over distilled water (p0) at a definite temperature,
and it is equivalent to the equilibrium relative humidity
(ERH) of the product as follows (Scott, 1957).
aw ¼ p=p0 ¼ ERH=100 ð1Þ
Under isothermal conditions, this equilibrium relationship
with the deterioration rate of the product is represented using
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
the moisture sorption isotherm. Understanding this relation-
ship is important to describe the changes in physical behavior,
the occurrence of chemical reactions, and the growth of mi-
crobial pathogens in food products at different levels of water
activity and moisture content (Labuza & Altunakar, 2008).
Moisture sorption isotherms define the ability to hold the
moisture by a solid substance at steady-state conditions, and it
is illustrated by the variation of equilibrium moisture content
as a function of the RH of the process environment at a certain
temperature. Moisture sorption by foods relies on chemical
composition and physical structure. It can be used to predict
the reactions of quality degradation at a particular temperature,
and moisture content (Iglesias & Chirife, 1982). For
predicting the moisture sorption behavior, various kinetic, em-
pirical, and semi-empirical models are used for different bio-
logical materials. Sorption isotherm is divided into two ways
adsorption and desorption. Drying is reasonably related to
desorption isotherm, which is determined by keeping a wet
product at the equivalent RH and estimating the loss in weight.
The model with the least value of mean relative deviation
modulus and % RMSE and maximum value of the coefficient
of determination is regarded as the best-fitted model (Al-
Muhtaseb et al., 2002). Monolayer moisture content is usually
considered the minimum value at which food and agricultural
product storage stability can be assured, but most of the
models are devoid of this. Hence, Guggenheim-Anderson-de
Boer (GAB) and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) models are
the most widely accepted isotherm models, applicable to
0<aw<0.99 and 0.05<aw<0.45, respectively (Basu et al.,
2006).
Water activity is influenced by air temperature or other
power intensity and sample thickness irrespective of drying
techniques. Aware and Thorat (2011) reported that IR, follow-
ed by HA, had a greater impact on reducing water activity
compared to other techniques. In order to arrest the non-
enzymatic browning reaction and microbial contaminations,
water activity should be kept below 0.4 (Perera, 2005). Rising
in microwave power from 2400 to 4000 W for a shorter drying
period (10 min) has negligible impact on the water activity of
turmeric; however, drying for a longer time (30 min) signifi-
cantly reduced the water activity to as low as 0.19 (Hirun
et al., 2014).
Rehydratability
The rehydratability of dried spices is a vital aspect, which
signifies the restoration of raw material properties in contact
with water for making them useful in ready-to-eat organic
meals and instant soup. There are several factors upon which
the rehydration kinetics depend, among which porosity and
capillaries are predominant followed by soluble solids, tem-
perature, and pH of soaking water, trapped air bubbles, and
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
cavities near the surface (Karathanos, 1993; Weerts et al.,
2003).
MW significantly increased the rehydratability com-
pared to infrared and VD due to the larger heat generation
and subsequent higher vapor pressure inside the product
which results in rapid moisture transfer and prevents the
structural collapse (Saengrayap et al., 2014). It was report-
ed that the rehydratability of red chili increased with in-
creasing microwave (100–300 W) and infrared (100–300
W) power. It is also found that during VD at lower pres-
sure, rehydratability is higher which is due to the larger
vapor pressure generation inside the product. The larger
vapor pressure generation causes a reaction force, which
prevents the structural collapse during drying and enhances
the ability to reabsorb water during rehydration (Krokida &
Maroulis, 2001). Internal steam generation during LPSSD
creates a porous structure in dried onion, which eventually
enhances the rehydratability (Sehrawat & Nema, 2018). It
is also reported that rigid and collapsed structures obtained
in the Infrared and hot air drying hindered the water
absorption during rehydration. Cui et al. (2003) argued that
freeze and MWV-HA (45°C) dried garlic had higher
rehydratability compared to solo high-temperature hot
air-drying (60–65°C). However, Abasi et al. (2009) and
Celia Roman et al. (2019) reported in convective tray dryer
the rehydratability of onion increased when the tempera-
ture was increased from 60 to 80°C, due to the formation of
porous and cellular structure.
With the increase of temperature of rehydration water,
the absorption ability of the product increases; however, in
boiling water, solid leaching may occur for some products
(Gaware et al., 2010). On the other hand, higher drying
temperature and microwave power create a very hard sur-
face with a packed internal structure, which can inhibit the
Fig. 3 Influence of process parameters on shrinkage ratio of turmeric
(Singh, Arora, & Kumar, 2010a)
1041
ingress of water molecules during rehydration (Barresi
et al., 2009).
Shrinkage Behavior
Due to the variation in moisture concentration, pressure, and
temperature gradient during drying, contractile stresses are
induced in the product. This causes microstructural strain
and deforms the regular structure in dried products by shrink-
ing. Due to the presence of heterogeneous structure and higher
moisture content, spices undergo non-uniform and larger vol-
ume shrinkage, which in turn causes surface cracking in many
cases.
The shrinkage behavior of dried products depends upon
products’ structural rigidity, mechanical properties, mois-
ture extraction rate, initial moisture content, drying process
parameters, etc. (Mahiuddin et al., 2018). However, the
influence of process parameters on shrinkage of different
spices is not similar, as reported in the literature. Variation
of shrinkage ratio of turmeric finger with temperature and
velocity of drying air in convective tray dryer is plotted in
Fig. 3, by obtaining data from Singh, Arora, and Kumar
(2010a). It was found that increasing the temperature (45–
65°C) and velocity (1–3 ms−1) of air decreased the shrink-
age ratio, indicating the increase in the shrinkage of tur-
meric. Abasi et al. (2009) found a similar trend that an
increase in air temperature (60–90°C) and drying time
(30–360 min) lead to an increase in the shrinkage of onion
dried in a convective tray dryer. This is because the drying
temperature was greater than the glass transition tempera-
ture of the products that produced rubbery state behavior.
Consequently, more shrinking occurred due to the higher
mobility of the solid matrix (Joardder et al., 2017).
Shrinkage rate of sliced spices (e.g., onion, garlic) reduced
at the later stage of drying due to the increase in glass
transition temperature with reducing moisture content.
This glassy state leads to a reduction in shrinkage due to
the high viscosity as well as low mobility of food compo-
nents (Sappati et al., 2017). Prachayawarakorn et al. (2006)
opined that shrinkage of sliced garlic was reduced dramat-
ically with a reduction in the moisture-content due to the
increased surface rigidity. It is also noticed that raising the
temperature from 50 to 70°C in convective tray drying
reduced the shrinkage of garlic due to the rigid crust for-
mation at the outer surface. During thermal drying, cell
collapse propagated from the outer surface to the center
of the products due to the penetration of thermal stress
from the surface towards the center (Joardder et al.,
2015). As a result, most of the fruits and vegetables under-
go a large anisotropic shrinkage when they are subjected to
simultaneous heat and mass transfer processes during dry-
ing (Khan et al., 2016; Mahiuddin et al., 2018).
1042
Influence on Sensory Characteristics
Color Appearance
Color or hue is an imperative visual feature of food, and also
makes a plea for consumer enchantment. No matter how nu-
tritive and safe the food is, color is an index of freshness and
wholesomeness. Deterioration of color indicates a chemical
reaction (enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning) in food
(deMan et al., 2018). In food colorimetry, the most widely
used method for the determination of color is Hunter color
space (L ∗ a ∗ b) where L indicates lightness, a is redness,
and
 b ispyellowness.
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 2 Diminishing the total color deviation
ΔE ¼ ðΔLÞ þ ðΔaÞ 2 þ ðΔbÞ 2 Þ is considered as a key
concern to the stakeholders to retain the natural color in dried
products (Prathapan et al., 2009). The color of spices is mainly
contributed by the polyphenols and other bioactive com-
pounds such as curcuminoids (turmeric), carotenoids (chili
and pepper), etc. (Balasubramanian et al., 2016).
Thuwapanichayanan et al. (2014) inferred that dried ginger
was brighter than the fresh one; however, higher temperature
degraded the total color. This is caused by the stimulation of
an enzymatic browning reaction in the presence of oxygen.
Redness and yellowness generally increase with increasing
drying air temperature owing to non-enzymatic browning
(Djendoubi Mrad et al., 2012). High-temperature drying tends
to caramelize the sugars present in the spices and exhibit dark
color (Peter, 2012).
Drying of turmeric above 70°C inactivates the browning
enzymes polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD).
At this stage, while the PPO and POD were denatured, sub-
strates of reaction (e.g., curcuminoids) were activated,
resulting in maximum retention of color without browning
(Prathapan et al., 2009). Similarly, Sharma et al. (2018) also
found that browning of turmeric decreased with the progres-
sion of drying time due to inactivation of PPO, which other-
wise oxidizes the curcuminoids. Lakshmi et al. (2018) report-
ed that OS of black turmeric had 74% more deviation from
natural color than the mixed-mode solar dryer. It was also
found that brightness in dried turmeric was reduced; however,
redness was increased due to the loss of camphor content.
Abano et al. (2011) observed that brightness and redness
increased significantly in dried garlic compared to undried
ones, which was attributed to the maillard reaction.
However, this positive trend of better color retention is limited
to low-temperature drying of garlic, e.g., DHA (heat
pump/desiccant) and FD. Aware and Thorat (2011) found that
during high-temperature HA and IR, the total color of garlic
was found to be degraded when the temperature was more
than 50°C and infrared power was more than 3 kW, respec-
tively. An analogous finding was incurred by Cui et al. (2003)
that solo hot air (60–65°C) drying of garlic severely degraded
the total color than FD and MWV-HA. However, the presence
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
of higher oxygen and moisture content in HA triggered the
maillard reaction and increased yellowness. It is noteworthy to
mention here that the brightness of garlic decreased signifi-
cantly with increasing the temperature from 50 to 70°C in
FCTD (Prachayawarakorn et al., 2006).
The color of the onion is mainly characterized by lightness,
and it is desirable to have lower yellowness and browning
index (Sehrawat & Nema, 2018). It was also opined that at
high-temperature HA drying, the lightness of onion decreased,
and the product turned into yellowish color; alternatively,
LPSSD retained better lightness as well as total color. Hot
air drying had 2.5–3 times more degradation of total color
than LPSSD due to the oxidation and thermal degradation of
pigments. Oxidation reaction causes a reduction in the light-
ness and total color of onion in hot air drying (45°C), com-
pared to FD (Wang et al., 2018).
The quality and market value of red chili are primarily
determined by its brighter appearance with higher redness,
moderate yellowness, and other natural pigments. Redness is
obtained by the presence of carotenoids (capsanthin,
capsorubin, etc.), whereas the yellow and orange color is ren-
dered by α-and β-carotene, zeaxanthin, lutein, and b-
cryptoxanthin (Ergüneş & Tarhan, 2006; Topuz & Ozdemir,
2007). Thermal drying for a longer time deteriorates the color
exponentially by isomerization and oxidation of carotenoids
and generation of browning pigment by the reaction of reduc-
ing sugar and amino acids present in the pericarp (Pugliese
et al., 2013; Rhim & Hong, 2011). Bianchi and Lo Scalzo
(2018) opined that browning of pepper escalated with raising
the temperature in convective tray drying. It is also found that
after high-temperature drying, retention of yellow fraction ca-
rotenoid was lower than light and red fraction carotenoid;
however, in FD, all color attributes were better retained.
Texture
The texture of solid food is characterized by five primary
parameters (viz. hardness, cohesiveness, viscosity, elasticity,
and adhesiveness) and evaluated by the consumer during mas-
tication. Hardness is generally measured as puncture force
(force necessary to attain a given deformation), an indication
of case hardening during drying (Supmoon & Noomhorm,
2013). Hardness characteristics are divided into three attri-
butes, viz. soft, firm, and hard. As most of the spices are
invariably used in powdered form, a softer texture (softening
of tissues) is recommended (deMan et al., 2018).
In vacuum-freeze drying, starch grains (for ginger) are rel-
atively well preserved (compared to high-temperature HA
drying) due to the sublimation moisture removal along with
the effect of vacuum; thus, the samples have comparatively
complete cell structure and less-dense texture (An et al.,
2016). In the context of microwave-vacuum drying, the soft-
ness of the product (e.g., turmeric) is retained considerably
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
due to the formation of a more significant internal porous
structure compared to the other techniques. During micro-
wave vacuum drying, the generation of internal heat vaporizes
the unbound water, which causes a vapor pressure gradient
between the inner and outer layers of the products.
Simultaneously, an additional pressure difference is also ob-
served with the application of vacuum, causing an expansion
of the internal structure (Giri & Prasad, 2007; Surendhar et al.,
2018). Abano et al. (2011) observed that the hardness of garlic
dried in a hot air dryer was increased significantly (7–13
times) due to the destruction of the porous structure. A similar
outcome was drawn by Cui et al. (2003) that hot air drying
(60–65°C) collapsed the porous structure, and produced a
tough texture in dried garlic compared to FD and MWV-
HA. Borah et al. (2015) found that integrated solar biomass
drying produced softer ginger and turmeric slices compared to
open sun, HA, and FBD due to the controlled and uniform
drying.
From the above discussion, it can be inferred that convec-
tive tray drying at elevated temperature is undesirable due to
the degradation of quality attributes either by destruction at
high temperature or chemical conversion process. To some
extent, other drying methods like VD, IR, and FD were able
to retain a higher number of bio-active compounds, phenols,
terpenes, antioxidants, etc. The low-temperature drying with
dehumidified air can be a trade-off between conventional hot-
air dryers and other high-end dryers since it can yield products
of satisfactory quality. The OS exhibited the highest color
degradation in any product by oxidation and decomposition
of pigment due to longer retention of the exposed surface to
the environment.
Methods for Better Quality Retention
and Reduced Drying Time
The general awareness in the scenario of the global energy
crisis is to reduce its consumption in an effective way.
Quality retention of heat sensible spices is also a serious con-
cern. Pretreatment of products prior to drying and application
of intermittent phenomena in drying is the significant means
of diminishing the energy consumption by enhancing the
moisture extraction rate and shortening the active drying time.
The quality of spices can also be retained in a better way
without additional capital investment (Kumar et al., 2014).
Pretreatment Methods
Pretreatment can improve the nutritional quality and physical
appearance of dried agro-products by inhibiting various unde-
sirable chemical reactions and inactivating the browning en-
zymes (polyphenols, PPO, POD, etc.). Suitable treatments
produce case softening while drying, which improves the
1043
texture (Leeratanarak et al., 2006). Pretreatment can be done
either chemically by application of various chemical agents or
physically by various thermal (hot water blanching, steam
blanching, microwave, ohmic heat, etc.) or by nonthermal
(pulsed electric field, freezing, ultrasonic, high pressure, etc.)
stresses (Deng et al., 2017). The impact of various pre-drying
treatments on moisture removal kinetics and quality charac-
teristics of ginger, turmeric, garlic, onion, chili, and pepper are
shown in Table 3 and discussed below:
Chemical Pretreatment
Immersing in chemical additive (e.g., caustic soda, fatty acid
esters) emulsion dissolves the hydrophobic waxy layer (con-
sists of oleanonic acid) or breakdown the intracellular bonding
and consequently increases the moisture diffusion rate.
Dipping pretreatment yields a more compact structure, thus
increases rehydration ability. It also increases the brightness
by inhibiting the browning enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO)
(Bingol et al., 2012; Doymaz & Altıner, 2012). Deshmukh
et al. (2013) observed that pretreatment of ginger with alkaline
ethyl oleate and potassium carbonate solution shortened the
drying time by 10–17.5% and improved the effective moisture
diffusivity and rehydration capacity (as per drying air temper-
ature), which is due to the removal of waxy layer and in-
creased skin permeability.
Acid treatment (e.g., ascorbic acid, citric acid) improves
antioxidant properties, pigment strength, texture softening,
and inactivate browning enzymes of vegetables and spices.
Thuwapanichayanan et al. (2014) reported a higher TPC and
antioxidant activities of ascorbic acid dipped ginger due to the
inactivation of browning enzymes (PPO). Ascorbic acid is
generally mixed with citric acid at optimum proportion be-
cause it has an inadequate ability to penetrate the cellular
matrix (Doymaz, 2010). Abano et al. (2011) stated that the
treatment of garlic in citric acid reduced the hardness by about
45% compared to the untreated sample. Kamal et al. (2019)
investigated the effect of chemical treatment (blanching in
acetic acid followed by soaking in Na2S2O5+CaCl2) on green
and red chili before drying in HA (60°C). It was found that the
moisture removal rate was increased in pretreated chili due to
the structure softening. The pretreated samples retained higher
β-carotene, polyphenolic, and pungent compounds due to the
inactivation of enzymes and binding with reducing sugar by
acetic acid and Na2S2O5. The pretreated green chili exhibited
a higher greenness due to higher retention of chlorophyll.
The pretreatment in sulfite solution (sulfitation) with potas-
sium metabisulfite (KMS) and others is known to inhibit the
non-enzymatic browning by inactivating the PPO through the
reaction between sulfite ions and quinines (Deng et al., 2017).
Sharma et al. (2015) reported that KMS treatment of sweet
bell-pepper before hot air drying (58°C) retained the higher
content of ascorbic acid, color, and softness. Abano et al.
Table 3 Effect of pretreatment methods on drying characteristics and quality of spices
1044

Spices Pretreatment methods Drying Findings References

Ginger Blanching in hot water (95°C) for 2 min FCTD - No significant effect on drying rate Thuwapanichayanan
- TPC and brightness reduced whereas antioxidant activity and redness slightly increased et al. (2014)
Ascorbic acid solution 0.1% (w/v) for 2 min FCTD - No significant effect on drying rate
- TPC, antioxidant potential, brightness, and total color improved
Blanching in hot water (70°C) for 5,15, and 30 min. FCTD - 6- gingerol content significantly reduced with increasing blanching time Gan et al. (2016)
High pressure (100–400 MPa) for 10 min at 25°C FCTD - Drying rate and internal moisture diffusivity increased with increasing pressure George et al. (2017)
- Extraction of 6- gingerol and oleoresin increased significantly
- Hardness reduced
Osmotic dehydration with Sucrose 20% (w/v), FCTD - Osmosonication followed by ultrasound and osmotic dehydration increased TPC, TFC, inactivation Osae et al. (2019)
Ultrasound (frequency 33 kHz and power 600 W), of enzymes (PPO and POD), phytochemical constituents (gingerol and their derivatives), antioxidant
and Osmosonication at 30°C for 30 min activities (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRIC)
- Color altered slight negatively and ultrasound retained the better color
Alkaline ethyl oleate solution (2% EO + 5% K2CO3) FCTD - Drying time reduced Deshmukh et al.
at room temperature for 1 min - Rehydratability improved (2013)
Turmeric Blanching in boiling water for 4 min and subsequent FCTD - Increased effective moisture diffusivity as well as drying rate Blasco et al. (2006)
cooling in water (15°C) for 3 min - Impact of blanching on drying rate was minimum at the higher temperature
Boiling at 100°C for 45 min MW - Brightness, yellowness and curcumin content reduced Surendhar et al.
(2018)
Curing/boiling for 1 h followed by shade drying for I FCTD - Drying rate increased Kutti Gounder and
week - Higher yield of volatile oil and antioxidant activities Lingamallu (2012)
Blanching in hot water (70°C) for 5, 15, and 30 min FCTD- Moisture removal rate increased in blanched sample for shorter blanching time. Gan et al. (2016)
- Curcumin retention increased by 32% at 15 min blanching
Garlic EDTA (0.75%), citric acid (0.5%), KMS (0.5%) for HA - Increased the drying rate, allicin content, and obtained better color Abano et al. (2011)
10 min and distilled water (untreated) - Texture softening occurred
Ultrasound (35 kHz for 30 min at 30°C) FCTD, - Drying time was reduced by 12–20% Bozkir et al. (2018)
MW - Rehydratability was increased
Onion Osmotic dehydration with NaCl 10%, 15% (w/w) for FCTD - Moisture diffusion coefficient increased NaCl concentration. Baroni and
60 min at 22°C with sample to liquid ratio 1:10 - Pre- treated sample exhibited more natural coloration Hubinger (1998)
- Activation energy reduced by about 33% in pretreated sample.
Ultrasound (20 kHz and amplitude: 24.4–61 μm), HA, - Ultrasound (up to 3 min) and blanching for 1 min retained higher TPC, Ren et al. (2017)
blanching (70°C) for 1–5 min FD TFC, antioxidant activities, and quercetins
- Natural color degraded greatly in ultrasound followed by blanching
Chili and Osmotic (10% Salt + 50% sucrose), chili: solution- HA, - Moisture diffusivity increased and drying time reduced Zhao et al. (2013)
pepper 1:10 MW - Obtained better color and vitamin- C content
Cold plasma (air at atmospheric pressure) for 15–60 s FCTD - Optimum treatment time (30 s) exhibited higher drying rate and red pigment Zhang et al. (2018)
- Antioxidant activities increased with increasing treatment time
2% acetic acid (2 min at 100°C) followed by solution HA - Drying rate increased Kamal et al. (2019)
(0.3% Na2S2O5 + 1% CaCl2) for 10 min - Retention of chlorophyll, β- carotene, TPC, and green color increased
PEF strength 1.0–2.5 kV/cm for 1–4 s using 30 μs HA - Moisture diffusivity and surface yellowness increased Won et al. (2015)
pulse width at pulse frequency of 100 Hz. - Drying time reduced with increasing pretreatment duration.
- Surface strain reduced significantly
HA, - Higher drying rate obtained in blanching followed by dipping in KMS (0.2%) + CA (0.5 %) Sharma et al. (2015)
GH - KMS treatment retained higher content of ascorbic acid, color, and texture
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054 1045

- High- intensity electric field pulse and blanching exhibited higher heat and mass transfer coefficient as Ade-Omowaye et al.
(2011) compared the influence of KMS, citric acid, and eth-

Wang et al. (2016)

ylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) treatment on sliced gar-
lic before drying in a convective tray dryer (45–55°C). All the
References

(2001)
pretreatment methods increased the drying rate, surface color,
and softness of dried garlic. EDTA-treated garlic produced
15–23% less ash-content, compared to untreated samples be-
cause it acts as a strong chelating agent. Both the EDTA and
citric acid are oxygen scavenger or antioxidants synergists
since they eradicate metal ions that catalyze the oxidation
(Fennema, 1996). KMS treatment increased the ash content
greatly due to the formation of sulfates. Sulfite residue after
treatment discourages the sulfitation treatment due to food
hazards (Taylor et al., 1986).
Osmotic treatment with the hypertonic solution (salt, su-
crose, sugar, glycerol, and other electrolytes) causes mem-
brane permeabilization of the cell wall and facilitates partial
and higher antioxidant activities except hot water blanching

water removal from the products. The greater osmotic pres-

well as reduced drying time compared to other treatments.

sure of hypertonic solutions reduces the water activity, which

acts as an added driving strength for the water removal
(Rahman & Lamb, 1991). It also inhibits the oxidation brow-
ning, structural collapse, and inactivates the enzymes during
- Blanching caused the destruction of nutrients
- Better retention of red pigment, vitamin- C,

the drying process (Torreggiani, 1993). Baroni and Hubinger

(1998) reported that the treatment of onion with 10% NaCl
solution escalated the effective diffusion coefficient by dou-
ble. However, with further increased NaCl concentration, the
effective diffusion coefficient reduced because of easy pene-
tration of NaCl into the tissues due to its lower molecular
- Drying rate increased

weight. Mixing of sucrose (50%) with salt (10%) increased

the drying rate of chili with better retention of color and
vitamin-C because sucrose created a layer that protects the
oxidation of vitamin-C (Zhao et al., 2013).
Drying Findings

Physical Pretreatment
Blanching (hot water 80–90°C, microwave, infrared FCTD

FBD

Hot water blanching (generally at 70 to 100°C) of agro-

products arrests the quality degradation by destroying patho-
Boiling water blanching (3 min), KMS (0.20–0.35 %),
citric acid (0.25–0.60 %), and (KMS + CA) for 5

genic microorganisms, inactivating browning enzymes, or

and high-humidity hot air impingement) for 1–3

(5% NaOH and 5% HCl for 25- 35 min), high

Boiling water blanching (100°C for 3 min), skin

discharging the air from the intercellular matrix. Internal mois-

ture migration is accelerated by microstructural changes, the
permeability of the cell membranes, segregation of the waxy
and high-intensity electric field pulse

layer, and delicate fissure formation at the outer surface

(Guida et al., 2013; Xiao et al., 2017). As reported in the
literature, turmeric was mostly pretreated by hot/boiling water
blanching, which increased the drying rate; however, quality
Pretreatment methods

decreased in many cases. Sharma et al. (2015) also reported

that boiling water blanching accelerated the drying rate of
sweet bell pepper and also reduced the acidity. However,
treatments

pressure,
Table 3 (continued)

high-temperature blanching for a prolonged period signifi-

min

min

cantly reduces the TPC of spices as only 2-min blanching of

ginger at 95°C, reduced the TPC by 25%
(Thuwapanichayanan et al., 2014). Gan et al. (2016) reported
Spices

that blanching at 70°C for 30 min reduced the 6-gingerol

content by 77% and destroyed the pigment, which negatively
1046
Fig. 4 Microstructure of ginger: a untreated; b high pressure (400 MPa) treated for 10 min (the arrow indicates cell membrane permeabilization) (George
et al., 2017)
affects the lightness and yellowness of ginger. It is also no-
ticed that with the increase of drying air temperature, the in-
fluence of blanching pretreatment becomes insignificant.
High humidity hot air impingement blanching (HHAIB) is
an advanced technology to overcome the limitations in hot
water blanching and superheated steam blanching such as loss
of water-soluble nutrients, undesirable texture, and decay of
phenolic compounds. It enhances the heat transfer rate due to
the thinner thermal boundary layer (Bai et al., 2013). Wang
et al. (2016) noted the effect of various blanching pretreat-
ments viz. hot water (80-90°C), microwave, infrared, and
HHAIB on red bell pepper before drying in air impingement
dryer (60°C and 10 ms−1). All blanching treatments increased
the drying rate, antioxidant activities, and retention of red
pigment, and vitamin-C except hot water blanching, which
could retain only 62.66% and 27.29% of red pigment and
vitamin-C respectively. Retention of red pigment and
vitamin-C was decreased with increasing treatment time from
1 to 3 min and microwave power from 650 to 900W.
However, the inactivation of PPO and POD increased with
the increasing treatment time and power intensity. The ultra-
structure analysis of the cell wall indicated that hot water
blanching and HHAIB disrupted the plastids and thylakoids
which are responsible for the reduction in qualities of red
pepper.
High-pressure pretreatment causes cell membrane perme-
abilization, which accelerated the moisture diffusion rate
(George et al., 2017). It was found that high pressure (400
MPa) pretreatment of ginger increased the moisture diffusivity
from 2.03×10−9 to 6.09×10−9 m2s−1, which helped to shorten
the drying time by half. It is also reported that 6-gingerol
content and yield of oleoresin increased by 34.05% and
28.29%, respectively. High pressure accelerated the perme-
ation of extraction solute into the porous structure, which in-
creases the extraction yield of bioactive compounds (Xi et al.,
2009). The untreated sample exhibited a more organized cell
structure, whereas the high-pressure treatment caused
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
softening of tissues, which results in membrane perme-
abilization with irregular cellular matrix, as shown in Fig. 4.
George et al. (2017) found that the compressive force required
to penetrate the pretreated (at 400 MPa) dried ginger was
reduced by 37%, compared to that of the samples without
pretreatment.
Pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment influences the di-
electric breakdown and permeabilization of the membrane of
biological tissues, which intensifies the uniform mass trans-
fer from the interior of the products (Ade-Omowaye et al.,
2001). Won et al. (2015) reported that moisture diffusivity of
red pepper in HA (45°C) increased from 2.42×10 −10
(untreated) to 3.71×10−10 m2s−1 in PEF treated sample.
With increasing the treatment time from 1 to 4 s, drying time
was reduced by around 18%. Yellow carotenoids (zeaxan-
thin, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin) are sensitive to high
temperature; therefore, non-thermal treatment with PEF and
shorter drying time increased the yellowness and extractable
yield of color in red pepper. PEF treatment also exhibited a
uniform color appearance with higher brightness and re-
duced surface strain.
Residual chemical additives and thermal degradation in
chemical and thermal treatment trigger food safety and
nutrient-loss in spices. This shortcoming can be mitigated by
applying non-thermal treatment like plasma, which also can
inhibit microbial contamination (Moreau et al., 2008). Zhang
et al. (2018) investigated the effect of cold plasma (air at
atmospheric pressure) treatment on chili before drying in a
hot air impingement dryer (70°C and 6 ms−1). The drying rate
was increased significantly due to the formation of micro-
holes at the surface by electrons and ions present in the plasma
jet. However, at higher treatment time (>30 s), moisture ex-
traction was hindered due to crust formation and cell wall
disruption as well as microstructural breakdown. Plasma treat-
ment also increased the red pigment by cell wall oxidation;
however, higher treatment time (>30 s) degraded the bioactive
pigments.
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
Ultrasound is a promising non-thermal pretreatment tech-
nique, which leads to an upsurge moisture transfer and a
higher yield of phytochemicals by forming microspores in
the product structure. Ren et al. (2017) reported that ultra-
sound and blanching treatment of onion before hot air drying
and FD increased the TPC, TFC, antioxidant activities, and
quercetin. However, prolonged exposure in ultrasound treat-
ment (>3 min) and blanching (>1 min) significantly reduced
the TPC and antioxidant activities due to the leaching of sol-
uble bioactive compounds in the treatment solution through
the microspores. It is also inferred that oxidation and thermal
degradation in the presence of an open atmosphere during
prolonged treatment reduced the phenols and total color. A
similar trend of decreasing the color (lightness) of garlic was
attributed in ultrasound pretreatment (35 kHz for 30min) be-
fore convective tray and MW (Bozkir et al., 2018). However,
the drying rate and rehydration ability of garlic were increased
by 13.82–19.30% and 6.68–21.3% respectively. Combined
ultrasonic-osmotic treatment (Osmosonication) increased the
effectiveness by synergic effects of disorganized cell structure
with osmotic pressure gradient (Bevilacqua et al., 2018). Osae
et al. (2019) investigated the effect of ultrasound, osmotic, and
osmosonication treatment on ginger before dying in a convec-
tive tray dryer. Compared to ultrasound and osmotic pretreat-
ment, osmosonication had a greater impact on increasing the
retention of TPC, TFC, inactivation of enzymes (POD, PPO),
phytochemical constituents (gingerol and their derivatives),
antioxidant activities. It is also found that osmosonication
had greater loss of lightness and total color compared to other
treatments due to maillard reaction and pigment degradation.
It is observed from the above discussion that blanching is
the most used conventional pretreatment method. It increased
the drying rate and antioxidants activities in most of the spices.
However, it had a negative influence on the phenolic content
and brightness of ginger, turmeric, onion, garlic, chili, and
Table 4 Effect of intermittent drying on drying characteristics and quality of spices
Drying Intermittent conditions
IMCTD PR: 1-4
IMCTD Temperature: 65°C (2 h) → 55°C (5 h) → 45 °C
(up to EMC)
IMCTD PR: 2 (up to 50% wb) → 4 (up to final MC)
V-MWFBD MW power 2.0/0.4 W/g (varied with reducing MC) Ginger
IMCTD intermittent microwave convective tray drying, V-MWFBD variable microwave fluidized bed drying
1047
pepper. The physical treatments with high pressure, ultra-
sound, pulsed electric field, and HHAIB are promising solu-
tions to alleviate the severe problems in chemical treatments
such as loss of nutrients, color, and chemical residue. To ame-
liorate the application of physical and hybrid pretreatment for
heat-sensitive spices, more fundamental research works are
needed.
Intermittent Drying
High temperature and prolonged exposure during drying ac-
celerate the destructive reaction rate and worsen the food qual-
ity due to heat stress (Joardder et al., 2017). Drying with var-
iable operating conditions (temperature, relative humidity, ve-
locity, pressure, and energy input) in either a cyclical or step-
wise manner is characterized by intermittent phenomena. The
duration when the heat supply is maintained is called the
heating or active period, while the period during which the
heat supply is varied or completely stopped is called the tem-
pering period. The aim is effective energy usage, to allow heat
and moisture redistribution, and to refrain from unlike or ex-
cessive heating.
The effects of intermittency on dried spice quality and en-
ergy consumption are summarized in Table 4. Continuous
supply of microwave power deteriorates the quality owing to
the disparity in temperature and moisture diffusion, which can
be terminated by using the microwave in a pulsed or intermit-
tent way with convective drying (IMCTD) (Soysal et al.,
2009). It is reasonable to observe that IMCTD inhibits the
non-enzymatic browning of dried pepper and improved
other qualities as regards color, texture, and aroma.
Takougnadi et al. (2017) reported that intermittent drying of
onion was 12.7% more energy-efficient than a continuous
process with better retention of vitamin-C (53.84%), fat
(166.04%), and protein (2.50%). However, the required
Spices Findings References
Red -Active drying time reduced with increasing pulse Soysal et al. (2009)
pepper ratio
-Superior quality as regards color,
texture and sensory attributes
Onion -More energy efficient Takougnadi et al.
-Better retention of vitamin-C, fat, and protein (2017)
Ginger -Significant reduction in energy consumption and An et al. (2016)
drying time
-Yield higher extraction, TPC, TFC,
and antioxidant activities
-Volatile concentration significantly reduced
-Reduced energy consumption with optimum Lv et al. (2016)
drying time
-Local browning avoided
1048
drying time was increased by 30 min. Esturk (2012) and Tham
et al. (2017) found a prolonged constant-rate period for sage
leaves and roselle in IMCTD and intermittent heat pump-solar
greenhouse dryer, respectively, due to sufficient time gap for
moisture and temperature redistribution within the products.
An et al. (2016) found that IMCTD of ginger exhibited higher
gingerol than a continuous MW or convective drying. The
controlled temperature in IMCTD at the later stage of drying
decreased the decomposition of 6-gingerol and preserved
higher TFC. During IMCTD, microwave energy stimulates
the liberation of volatile compounds and gets evaporated by
hot air, which results in lower volatile concentrations. It is also
reported that IMCTD is 2.7–90.4% energy-efficient compared
to continuous convective, IR, and FD. Varying the microwave
power with reducing moisture content in microwave-fluidized
bed drying (V-MWFBD) of ginger reduced the energy con-
sumption with better essential oil (8- and 10-gingerol) and
color (Lv et al., 2016).
Thin Layer Modeling for Drying of Spices
Modeling of drying kinetics based on the theoretical, semi-
theoretical, or empirical relationship is very important to pre-
dict the moisture extraction behavior from an industrial per-
spective. Before scale-up and fabrication of an industrial dry-
ing system, it is necessary to identify the reliable drying tech-
nique with optimizing process parameters, which would be
able to meet the desired output (Babu et al., 2018). A thin
layer is defined as a layer of wet product with definite thick-
ness (up to 20 cm or three layer of samples), at which all the
products samples are assumed to be exposed to the drying
medium (mostly air) under uniform drying conditions (e.g.,
temperature and relative humidity of the drying air), which
facilitates uniform distribution of drying medium throughout
the product (Erbay & Icier, 2010; Onwude, Hashim, Janius,
et al., 2016b). However, Kucuk et al. (2014) reported that the
thickness of a thin layer can be increased provided there is an
increase in the flow rate of drying air and also if the simulta-
neous heat and mass transfers of the material are in thermo-
dynamic equilibrium with the drying air. Thin-layer modeling
is based on Fick’s second law of diffusion and Newton’s law
of cooling (Prakash & Kumar, 2017). The appropriate model
is generally decided on the basis of a peak value of the coef-
ficient of determination (R2) and the least value of chi-square
(χ2), standard error of estimate, root-mean-square error, and
the summed square of residuals as compared to the experi-
mental data. For a model to provide a satisfactory result, the
value of R2 (coefficient of determination) should be greater
than 0.97 (Özbek & Dadali, 2007; Shinde et al., 2013). Hence,
care must be taken to choose a model that fits the experimental
data most accurately for the drying conditions prevalent in the
chosen dryer. Page model is the simplest and relevant model
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
for mathematically envisaging the drying kinetics of most of
the spices. However, the selection of the best fit model is
critical and depends upon several factors like process param-
eters, product characteristics, and dryer type. As thin-layer
modeling is not considered as primary objectives of the cur-
rent work, it is not discussed elaborately.
Concluding Remarks and Future Scopes
A comprehensive overview is reported on drying characteris-
tics and quality attributes of selected major spices (ginger,
turmeric, onion, garlic, chili, and pepper) based on globally
acknowledged market potential, exclusive culinary and
medicative values. It is aimed to explore the research trend
towards increasing the performance of the drying system,
retaining product quality, and minimizing the energy intensity
and carbon footprint by using innovative approaches; for in-
stance, hybridization of drying system, pretreatment, intermit-
tent drying, renewable energy intervention, and waste heat
recovery. Based on the extensive study of literature, the fol-
lowing major conclusions have been drawn:
& Drying of most of the spices is principally governed by
internal moisture diffusion and is consistent with the mo-
lecular mobility theory. Due to high moisture content in
selected major spices, product temperature stays well be-
low air temperature for a considerable fraction of drying
time. Therefore, in order to evaluate the drying kinetics of
these spices, moisture diffusion coefficient is to be corre-
lated with the characteristic product temperature instead of
air temperature to have more realistic consequences of
Arrhenius activation energy. The drying rate is mainly
accelerated by increasing heat input; however, permissible
upper drying air temperature of ginger (60–70°C), turmer-
ic (60–100°C), garlic (50°C), onion (60–70°C), and chili
and pepper (50–60°C) are restricted to retain the quality.
So, drying rate could be enhanced alternatively by
dehumidifying the drying air and reducing sample thick-
ness. However, air velocity has a negligible positive effect
on drying rate.
& Increasing the efficiency and decreasing the active drying
time and quality deterioration has the potential to make a
drying technology more reliable. FBD and MW are rapid
drying processes in solo mode compare to VD, DHA, and
FD, due to uniform fluid-solid mixing, and internal heat
and vapor generation respectively. However, initial fluid-
ization of spice flakes is difficult owing to surface wetness
or stickiness, and microwave energy tends to cause local
scorching of products. FD can be recommended for higher
quality retention of heat sensible spices; however, FD and
FBD are the higher energy consuming techniques. Solo
FCTD is more popular in industries due to simplicity,
Food Bioprocess Technol (2021) 14:1028–1054
however, it reduces moisture removal rate during falling
rate period, which results in severe quality deterioration.
Hybridization of two or more conventional solo drying
technologies or integration of novel approaches (e.g., ra-
diofrequency, electrohydrodynamic, ultrasound) in a si-
multaneous or subsequent manner is recommended to at-
tenuate the shortcomings in a solo technique.
& Principle phenolic and flavonoid compounds of maximum
spices can be retained up to 60–70°C (100°C for turmeric)
temperature. However, the antioxidant activities increased
at high temperatures due to the thermochemical conver-
sion of phenols. The color attributes of some spices (e.g.,
ginger, turmeric, chili) increased after thermal drying up to
a certain temperature.
& Air temperature and drying time have a positive effect on
reducing water activity and desorption kinetics. GAB
model is the best-fitted model for predicting the desorption
kinetics of spices. Drying at higher temperatures increases
the shrinkage and hardness, thus reduces the rehydration
ability due to case hardening and structural collapse.
& Ultrasound, osmosonication, and high humidity hot air
impingement blanching are the promising pretreatment
methods to alleviate the difficulties in typical chemical
or blanching treatment. Although boiling or pressure
cooking for a longer time increases the drying rate of
ginger, turmeric, etc., it is not recommended due to a sig-
nificant reduction in phenols, curcumin, color, and
oleoresin.
& Intermittent drying shortens the duration of active drying
by incorporating the tempering period, which reduces the
energy consumption and quality deterioration caused by
overheating and local browning.
& Mixed-mode drying (solar air heating with simultaneous
greenhouse effect in the drying chamber), solar-biomass
dryer integrated with an energy storage system, and waste
heat recovery from exhaust drying air increase the system
performance.
& Page model is the simplest and relevant model for mathe-
matically predicting the drying kinetics of most of the
spices. However, the selection of a suitable model is crit-
ical and depends upon several factors like process param-
eters, sample shape, and dryer type.
From detailed observations in the current review and recent
trends, the following potential research scopes have been
identified:
& There is no substantial literature on cardamom and other
valuable minor spices (leaves, fruits, seeds, etc.).
& Further investigations are necessary on low-temperature
novel hybrid and staged drying techniques to prevent the
quality losses in spices, however, not at the cost of exces-
sive energy consumption.
1049
& Modeling of microstructure, porosity, and establishing the
relationship for predicting the physicochemical changes
during drying of structurally heterogeneous spices is miss-
ing in the literature.
& Application of novel physicochemical and non-thermal
pretreatment and intermittent phenomena in the drying
of spices is very limited in the literature.
& Renewable energy intervention and waste heat recovery in
drying systems are needed to be explored in industrial-
scale towards environmental sustainability and reducing
the carbon tax.
Abbreviations abs, absolute; DHA, dehumidified air drying; Deff, effec-
tive moisture diffusivity; EMC, equilibrium moisture content; FBD, flu-
idized bed drying; FC-HPD, forced convective-heat pump stage drying;
FCTD, forced convective tray drying; FD, freeze drying; FIR, far-infrared
drying; FIRMVD, far-infrared microwave vacuum drying; GH, green-
house drying; h, hour; HA, hot air oven drying; HA-FBD, hot air-
fluidized bed stage drying; HP, heat pump drying; HP-FBD, heat
pump-fluidized bed stage drying; IMCTD, intermittent microwave con-
vective tray drying; IR, infrared drying; IRCTD, infrared convective tray
drying; LPSSD, low-pressure superheated steam drying; MC, moisture
content; min, minute; MR, moisture ratio; MW, microwave drying;
MWCTD, microwave convective tray drying; MWFBD, microwave flu-
idized bed drying; MWFD, microwave freeze drying; MWIR, microwave
infrared drying; MWVD, microwave vacuum dryer; MWV-HA, micro-
wave vacuum-hot air stage drying; OS, open sun drying; PPO,
polyphenoloxidase; POD, peroxidase; PR, pulse ratio; RH, relative hu-
midity; s, second; STD, solar tray drying; TFC, total flavonoid content;
TPC, total phenolic content; USCTD, ultrasound convective tray drying;
USHA, ultrasound hot air oven drying; VD, vacuum drying; VFD, vac-
uum freeze drying; V-MWFBD, variable microwave fluidized bed dry-
ing; wb, wet basis; w/v, weight per volume
Declarations
Conflict of Interest The authors declare no competing interests.
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