Effect of Temperature and Sucrose Concentration on the Retention of Polyphenol Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Osmotically Dehydrated Bananas

This work reports on the mass transfers and retention of phenolic compounds (RPH), condensed tannins (RT) and antioxidant activity (RA) of banana slices submitted to osmotic dehydration (OD). The slices were osmotically dehydrated according to a 22 full factorial design with three repetitions at the central point. The independent variables were temperature (30, 40 and 50C) and sucrose solution concentration (45, 55 and 65% w/w). The analyses of banana slices were performed after 60 and 180 min of process. There was an increase in the water loss and reductions in parameters L*, RPH and RA with increasing temperature of the solution. An increase in the osmotic solution concentration boosted the gain of solids. The RA of the osmotically dehydrated fruit was greater than 97%, leading to the conclusion that OD reduces the moisture of fruits maintaining the antioxidant activity of their bioactivities compounds with an intensification of fruits color. Practical Applications Osmotic dehydration can be a viable alternative to achieve higher shelf life of fruit pieces, minimizing postharvest losses and offering minimally processed fruits, shelf-stable ingredients in the formulation of processed products and/or being used as pretreatment to improve quality of dried fruits. The optimization of this process as regards the bioactive compounds and their antioxidant activities presents potential application in the industrial production of high quality products with functional properties.