International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences.

Available online at www.ijagcs.com

IJACS/2014/7-5/230-236
ISSN 2227-670X 2014 IJACS Journal

Effect of hot-air drying conditions on the quality of

rhubarb (Rheum Ribes L.)
Sana Nikjooy1,*, Shima Safi Jahanshahi2
1. Department of Food Science & Technology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran
3. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Payame Noor University of Sari, Iran

*corresponding author email: sun313ni@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: In this study, after drying rhubarb's stalks in single layers with thickness of 3 mm in the
o -1
ranges of 50-70 C inlet air temperature and 10.2 ms air velocity in a laboratory scale cabinet dryer,
the quality characteristics including: vitamin C, acidity, pH, color intensity, moisture content, loose and
tapped bulk density, solubility, shrinkage and, rehydration capacity were measured. Results showed
the initial moisture content of rhubarb was 579.99% (dry basis) and increased drying temperature led
to a reduction in values of vitamin C content and pH and increment of acidity, color intensity, solubility,
and loose and tapped bulk density. Maximum of rehydration was seen in the sample dried at 70C
.Increasing temperature had no significant effect on shrinkage. The results of the study showed that
the drying process at 70C was the optimal condition with the least time and most rate of drying.
Keywords: rhubarb; hot air drying; shrinkage; rehydration; quality

INTRODUCTION

Rhubarb is an herbaceous perennial of the dock family (Polygonaceae)- an apetalous dicot which has
two huge green leaves. Its height reaches 3 meters. The stalk which bears little red flowers is straight up and
bilateral and comes out of plant axis. Rhubarb contains vitamins A, B2, B1 and C and substantial amount of
antioxidants. Ozturk et al. (2007) in an investigation extracted an ample quantity of antioxidants from rhubarb
stalks. Furthermore, rhubarb has minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium and also organic acids
like malic and citric acid.
Drying operation is among the most important and fundamental steps in food industry which is
employed to maintain properties of agricultural and medicinal products and also to cut down transport expenses
and facilitate their consumption. The aim of drying a food is removing water and consequently preventing
microbial and chemical decay and improving its shelf-life. There is an effort to maximize the rate of drying
through conveying heat and humidity. Because of fewer expenses, hot air drying is one of the key approaches
in manufacturing of dried products. The majority of industrial dryers utilize hot air flow to dry stuffs. Usage of
these dryers results in acceleration of drying process and allows for fulfillment of hygienic conditions (Akanbi et
al., 2006). Many researchers have worked out on mass transport and drying kinetics of foods and crops. Lee &
Kim (2008) studied vacuum-drying of white radish slices of 4 and 6 mm thickness at the temperature range of
40-60C. Babalis et al.(2006) carried out analyses on fig drying at temperatures of 55-85C and air flow speed
-1
varying from 0.5 to 3 ms in a tunnel dryer. Also investigations have done about drying okra at different
conditions of pre-treatment, thickness and temperature, and about drying mulberries at 50C, drying green
sweet pepper at 30-70C and for some vegetables including potato, tomato, carrot, mushroom and garlic
(Ertekin & Gedik, 2005; Midilli et al., 2002; Mitra et al., 2011).
In this study qualitative changes of rhubarb stalks during drying were examined and optimum
conditions for drying rhubarb stalks were determined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RAW MATERIAL

The rhubarb stalks was purchased from local market in Tehran, Iran. All the samples were stored at a
temperature of 4-5C in order to prevent the physiological and chemical changes from Occurring . For every
experiment, the rhubarb stalks were washed with cold water and then cut manually into 3-millimeter thick slices
using a sharp knife in order to have uniform slices, the thickness of all slices were checked and measured by a
Intl J Agri Crop Sci. Vol., 7 (5), 230-236, 2014

dial micrometer. All these steps were repeated 3 times. All chemicals used in the study were manufactured by
Merk in Germany.

Drying procedure
The initial moisture content of rhubarb was 579.99% (dry basis). (AOAC, 2000). The slices were
weighed and without applying any pretreatment were placed evenly as a thin layer on a tray of a cabinet dryer
equipped with flow and temperature control system (Hi Tech Dryer FD-02, Iran). The drying process was
carried out at three air temperatures; 50, 60 and 70C which was controlled in automatic form, using a PID
controller. The air velocity was kept constant at 1 0.2 m/s which measured by a digital hot wire anemometer
(Lutron, Model AM4204, Taiwan). During each experimental run, the moisture reduction (by weight reduction of
samples) was determined at 10 minutes intervals (for the first 2 h) and at 20 minutes intervals thereafter till the
end of the experiment. At the end of each experimental run the dried samples were stored in desiccators for 10
minutes prior to final moisture content measurement. All experiments were carried out in triplicate. Moisture
ratio of the samples during drying was expressed by the following equation:
M Me
MR
M0 Me
In this equation, the moisture content of samples compared to their initial moisture content, the
equilibrium moisture content and the moisture content at a time are calculated at any time during the drying
process. However, the moisture ratio was simplified to M/M0 instead of ( M Me )/( M0 Me ) as the value of Me
is relatively small compare to M or M0 (Goyal et al. 2008). Then, the diagrams of drying time and rate for tree
treatment were drown using excel.

Evaluation of quality characteristics

After being reduced in moisture content to a final extent, samples were collected and cooled. Then
these samples were wrapped in polyethylene packages and maintained at dry, cool and dark places until
quality assessments. For some experiments dried samples were grinded to powder.
The PH of samples were determined through digital pH meter (Metrohm, model 780). The average pH
of samples was 2.9-3.4. Total acidity were analyzed according to AOAC standard (1984).The average acidity
of samples based on malic acid was between 1.2 and 9.7.
The amount of vitamin C was determined by Iran National Standard no 5609 (1993).
The degree of absorption of browning pigment was determined at 420nm by means of a
spectrophotometer (Model UV120-02, Japan), At the end, the concentration level of the browning pigment (5-
hydroxymethyl furfural) was calculated through the following formula:
C (mg/100ml) =A / L M D
Where C is the molar concentration, is the molar absorbance, D is the dilution factor, A is the absorption , M is
the molecular weight of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural and L is the path length of the spectrophotometer cell in cm
(Sharifi & Hassani, 2012).

Solubility
1 g of powder was dissolved in 100 ml water. The solution was centrifuged for 10 minute at 7500 rpm.
o
25 ml of supernatant was dried in an oven at 105 C for 5 hours. The solubility (%) was calculated by the
following equation (AOAC, 1990).
S=(M1 M2) / 0.25 100
In this equation M 1, M 2 and S weight of container after out of it from the oven, the empty weight of
container and solubility after 5 hour respectively.

Loose and tapped bulk density

Loose bulk density(bl )of powders was measured by a known amount of sample (M) and placing into a 500
ml graduated cylinder(V1). The cylinder with the same sample was tapped 20 times on a smooth, soft surface
from a height of 10 cm and the volume of the sample was evaluated (V2). loose bulk density(bl ) and tapped
bulk density(bt) was calculated by the following equations (Goula & Adamopoulos, 2005).
bl=M/V1
bt=M/V2

Measurement of shrinkage
For determining shrinkage degree of samples, the volume of rhubarb slices was measured during
drying and throughout various levels of moisture content. In each test, 15 samples of rhubarb were randomly
withdrawn from dryer and their volumes were recorded. Measuring sample volumes was performed by method

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of toluene displacement and a pycnometer unit. Following equations were used for calculating mass and
volume of displaced toluene and accordingly volume of samples (Mohsenin, 1986).
V= M/to =( m+m' )- m" / to
V: volume of displaced toluene = volume of sample (m3)
m, m': respectively, mass of the pycnometer containing toluene and sample (kg)
m'': mass of the pycnometer containing toluene plus sample (kg)
M: mass of displaced toluene (kg)
-3
to: toluene density (kgm )
The shrinkage degree of samples is obtained by following equation:
Sh = (1- Vt / V0 ) 100
Vt: volume of dried sample at certain time
V0: primary volume of the same sample before drying
Sh: shrinkage percentage

Rehydration capacity
For the purpose of assessing samples ability of rehydration of moisture, we employed the technique of
submerging in distilled water. Samples were dipped in distilled water and removed after finite period of time (in
10-minute intervals for lukewarm water and 10 to 15-second intervals for boiling water) and their superficial
moisture was taken with blotting paper. Then they were weighed by a scale. For this purpose, because of high
speed of absorption at first, the time intervals were considered short. This manner resumed until the weight
variation of samples reached to a minimum and almost became fixed. This point was the terminal point and the
percent of absorbed water was the maximum ability of substance for rehydration. Eventually we obtained the
percent of rehydration by following equation (Cunningham, 2007):
Rehydration capacity (%) = W2 W1/ W1 100
W1, W2: respectively, weight of dried sample before the test and weight of sample after
reaching to fixed weight

Statistical analysis
Evaluation of data obtained from experiments was done by factorial test in a complete randomized
block design with three replicates. At the end, data were analyzed by SAS software and means of data were
studied using conserved LSD. The graphs were plotted by Microsoft Excel.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Drying behavior of rhubarb slices

Drying process of rhubarb stalks was performed up to reaching the final moisture content. The sample
dried at 70C enjoyed the shortest drying time and the fastest drying rate. This is due to the fact that at higher
drying air temperatures the water vapor pressure within the rhubarb slices increases initiating easier moisture
movement. Similar observations have been reported for drying of apple slices and onion slices (Goyal et al.,
2008, Sarsavadia et al., 1999).
Obtained results are shown in figures 1 and 2. The highest drying rate was associated with the sample
dried at 70C and the least one was for the sample dried at 50C. Curves of drying rate at temperatures 50, 60
and 70C didn't follow a special pattern. At 50C maximum drying rate gained in the point of 566.6 percent (dry
basis), which was equal to 0.084 kg H2O/kg DMmin; the maximum drying rate at 60C obtained in 549.3
percent of humidity (0.078 kg H2O/kg DMmin) and at 70C it was attained in 488.2 percent of humidity (0.18 kg
H2O/kg DMmin) (Fig. 1). As seen in drying rate curves, constant drying rate period was not observed, the
rhubarb drying occurring in the falling rate period. Zirjani and Tavakoli-pur in 2010 came by the same results in
drying banana slices through hot air. In addition, results of analysis of variance approved that the effect of
temperature on average drying time was significant at p < 0.01. Comparing means of treatments showed that
the longest drying time was associated with 50C and the shortest time was for 70C (Fig. 2). Results
revealed that the mean of drying time diminished with increasing temperatures. Referring to Fig. 2, curves of
drying time at 50, 60 and 70C are of exponential and descending function. Similar results for other products
have been attained by Vega et al. (2007), Akpinar et al. (2003) and Simal et al. (2005). The studies carried out
by these scientists were on red pepper, different vegetables and kiwifruit.

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0.2

Rate kgw/kgDMmin
0.15

0.1 50 C
0.05 60 C
0 70 C
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Moisture content
Figure 1. Drying rate of rhubarb slices at tree temperatures.

800
Moisture content

600

400 50 C
200 60 C
0 70 C
0 100 200 300
Time(min)

Figure 2. Drying time of rhubarb slices at tree temperatures.

Evaluation of qualitative characteristics

Acidity
Results from determining acidity of dried samples at temperatures 50, 60 and 70C indicated that by
increment in dryer air temperature, the acidity added. The reason for this event is conversion of sugar available
in rhubarb into organic acids. The highest acidity was related to the sample dried at 70C (1.69 in 100 ml) (Fig.
3).

pH
Our results illustrated that the effect of temperature on pH was significant. The greatest pH was
observed in the sample dried at 50C and the lowest one was in the sample dried at 70C (Fig. 3).

Vitamin C
Results from analysis of variance and comparison of means disclosed that temperature raise
intensifies degradation of vitamin C. Zirjani and Tavakoli-pur (2010) achieved to the same conclusion about
drying banana. In our study the lowest content of vitamin C in dried sample was seen at 70C (Fig. 3).

4 3.54 3.53 3.41

3
1.48 1.43 1.69
2 1.18 acidity in 100 ml
1.02 0.74
1 pH
0 mg vitc/100 g
50 60 70
temperature (C)

Figure 3. Amount of acidity, pH and vitamin C in samples of dried at three temperatures.

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Loose and tapped bulk density

The influence of temperature on tapped and loose bulk density was significant, so as with growth of
temperature the bulk density increased. Athanasia et al. (2004) attained a parallel result for tomato powder.
loose and tapped bulk densities are among the basic parameters measured in dried fruits and vegetables. This
is of particular importance in industry with regard to transport, storage and packaging, because increase in
density results in reduction of product volume. Due to thermal shock and shrinkage, the sample prepared at
70C had the greatest density (Fig. 4).

0.8 0.587 0.642 0.629

0.6 0.352 0.385 0.394
0.4 Loose bulk
0.2 density(g/ml)
0 Tapped bulk
50 60 70 density(g/ml)

temperature (C)

Figure 4. Loose and tapped bulk density in samples of dried at three temperatures.

Color intensity
The utmost absorbance, which has a direct relationship with intensity of brown pigments, was related
to the sample dried at 70C and the least was seen for the sample prepared at 50C. Increased temperature
led to rise of non-enzymatic browning reactions (Fig. 5).

0.6 0.437
0.293
0.4 0.195
0.2
absorb
0
50 60 70
temperature (C)

Figure 5. Color intensity in samples of dried at three temperatures 50, 60 and 70C.

Solubility
The temperature effect on the solubility of produced powders was notable. The highest solubility was
reported for the sample dried at 70C and the lowest one was noted in the sample dried at 50C (Fig. 6).
Raising drying temperature caused increment of solubility for powders. Greek researchers found similar results
about tomato powder. It seems that the effect of raising temperature on increasing solubility has a direct
relationship with the way of removing moisture from sample tissue and also moisture percent of it (Athanasia et
al. 2004).

40 33.363
30 17.066
15
20
10 solubility (g/l)
0
50 60 70
temperature (C)

Figure 6. Solubility in samples of dried at three temperatures 50, 60 and 70C.

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Shrinkage
Increase or decrease in drying temperature had no significant effect on product shrinkage. Variations
of volume shrinkage of rhubarb slices during drying are demonstrated in Fig. 7. Evaluating these changes in
shrinkage percent over drying at various air temperatures revealed that the effect of temperature of dryer on
shrinkage of product was not significant, and shrinkage is merely a function of moisture content of product.
Mayor and Sereno (2004) utilized a linear relationship for expression of crops shrinkage as a function of their
moisture content.

75.6
76 75

74
72
72 shrinkage (%)
70
50 60 70
temperature (C)

Figure7. Shrinkage in samples of dried at three temperatures 50, 60 and 70C.

Rehydration capacity
The drying procedure had a statistically significant influence on the rehydration characteristic of the
rhubarb samples (Figure 8). with the increase of the drying temperature the rehydration ratio for the samples
also increased. It may have been due to the fact that the rate of the moisture removal at a higher drying
temperatures very fast and causes less shrinkage of the dried samples. The rehydration ratio with the naturally
dried samples was the lowest ( Krokida & Marinos, 2003).

1.25 1.223

1.2
1.125 1.131
1.15
rehydration
1.1
capacity
1.05
50 60 70
temperature (C)

Figure 8. Rehydration capacity in samples of dried at three temperatures 50, 60 and 70C.

Determination of optimized conditions for drying rhubarb

For determining optimized conditions of drying rhubarb, firstly different treatments were evaluated
regarding time and rate of drying (drying time 64.53 min, drying rate 0.053 kg H2O/ kg DMmin) and via
assessment of qualitative characteristic of tested samples by Duncan's mean comparison method. Then
treatments scored in each characteristic reached a definite limit. Results emphasized that air temperature of
70C, with highest drying rate and shortest drying time, obtained the best score, so it was chosen as the
optimum temperature for drying rhubarb stalks.

CONCLUSION

Some qualitative changes in hot-air drying of rhubarb were concerned in this study. Results suggested
that increasing temperature in hot-air drying would speed up drying rate and reduce drying time. Rise of
temperature accompanied with decrease in vitamin C and pH, and increase in acidity, color intensity, solubility,
and loose and tapped bulk density. The largest rehydration was observed in the sample dried at 70C. Average
of final shrinkage at different temperatures was 74.2 percent in final humidity content of 1.5 at dry basis.
Analysis of variation in shrinkage percent during drying at various air temperatures indicated that the effect of

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dryer air temperature on shrinkage was not significant, and shrinkage is just a function of moisture content of
product. After inspecting changes in quality characteristics tested here, the temperature of 70C was set as the
best temperature in drying process of rhubarb with minimum time and maximum rate of drying.

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