Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology

Volume 10, Issue 3, Page 60-65, 2023; Article no.JAFSAT.11633

ISSN: 2454-4213

Effect of Drying on Nutritional Profile

of Fruit Leathers
P. D. Shere a*, A. A. Palve a and S. V. Ghodke a
a
MIT School of Food Technology, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune, India.

Authors’ contributions

This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. All authors read and approved the final
manuscript.

Article Information
DOI: 10.56557/JAFSAT/2023/v10i38343

Received: 28/05/2023
Original Research Article Accepted: 03/08/2023
Published: 12/08/2023

ABSTRACT

The effect of hot air drying on nutritional profile of fruit leathers will help in redefining the importance
as a nutritionally concentrated snack. The mango, strawberry fruit pulp was dehydrated at 40, 50,
60, 70ºC in cabinet dryer to standardize the drying temperature with respect to quality attributes.
The drying rate curves at mentioned drying air temperature showed that 60ºC drying air
temperature was suitable for obtaining good sensory quality dried leather with end moisture content
o
of 16 to 19% for a drying period of 7 hours. Therefore, 60 C temperature was selected for nutritional
profiling of fruit pulp vs fruit leather. The proximate composition of mango and strawberry leather
(carbohydrate- 58.26/ 73.31%, protein- 1.58/2.95%, Ash- 1.98/2.11%, dietary fibre- 14.06/17.13%)
was found to be superior compared to their fruit pulps (carbohydrate- 14.39/11.12%, protein-
0.61/2.64%, crude fibre-0.79/2.9%, ash-0.52/0.51%).

Keywords: Mango; strawberry pulp; fruit leather; mineral; nutritional; antioxidant.

1. INTRODUCTION temperature, gaseous atmosphere in which fruits

are stored after harvest, as well as the fruit crop,
In India, fruits experience post-harvest losses have a significant impact on the amount of
ranging from 5 to 18%, and these losses happen postharvest losses. The major processing
at different points along the post-harvest chain. techniques employed at an industrial level to
The ambient conditions such as relative humidity, preserve fruits such as canning, freezing,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Corresponding author: E-mail: sherepd@gmail.com;

J. Adv. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 60-65, 2023
 Shere et al.; J. Adv. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 60-65, 2023; Article no.JAFSAT.11633

dehydration of perishable fruits is best suited for of phytochemicals and phenolic components
developing countries, which have a poor (ellagic acid, anthocyanins, catechin) which are
infrastructure for storage at low temperature and known for their potential health-promoting
processing [1]. properties [11]. Fruit is very susceptible to fungal
and bacterial spoilage due to its delicate and
Fruits are a valuable source of nutrients that are nutrient rich nature. It is also prone to water loss,
good for health, including vitamins, minerals, bruising, and mechanical problems, and has a
antioxidants, and fiber. The immune system is short post-harvest life [12,13].
strengthened and illnesses are kept at bay by
daily fruit consumption. In comparison to other This study is aimed at establishing the effect of
countries, India produces most of the fruits and drying on the nutritional profiling of fruit leathers
vegetables which are further processed into prepared from mango and strawberry pulp.
various value-added products to prevent post-
harvest losses [2,3]. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fruit puree is dehydrated to prepare a product 2.1 Materials

called fruit leather. These fruit snacks were
initially developed as an alternative preservation The good quality of fruits (Mango and
method on a small scale, but recently they have strawberry), sugar, pectin were procured from
gained appeal because of their nutritional local market of Loni Kalbhor, Pune.
benefits [4-6]. The processed fruit items are a
good source of fiber and other micronutrients and 2.2 Methods
have fewer calories than market snacks [7-9].
The fruit mango (Mangifera indica L.), is good 2.2.1 Preparation of mango and strawberry
source of carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals and leather
phytochemicals (mangiferin). Mangoes are
widely known for its medicinal and nutraceutical The mango and strawberry fruit leathers were
benefits, especially for its potential to fight processed as per the flowchart depicted in Fig. 1.
against degenerative illnesses like cancer and The Alphonso mango pulp and strawberry pulp
heart disease [10]. Strawberry (Fragaria were purchased from supplier with required
ananassa) is an exotic fruit. It contains high level specifications. Mango and strawberry pulp

Fig. 1. Processing flow-chart for mango and strawberry leather

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 Shere et al.; J. Adv. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 60-65, 2023; Article no.JAFSAT.11633

separately was added with sugar to raise the 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
o
TSS content to 16-20 Bx and pectin to provide
consistency to the leather. The pulps were 3.1 Influence of Temperature on Drying
o
individually pasteurized at 80 C for 2-3 minutes. Rate
Spread the pasteurized pulps separately in
stainless steel trays smeared with butter. The The drying curves depicted in Figs. 2 and 3
o
trays were loaded in cabinet dryer at 60 C for showed variations in moisture content with
7h. The dried mango and strawberry leathers respect to time (7 h) for drying of mango and
were cut into rectangular pieces of dimensions strawberry fruit leather at temperatures of 40, 50,
10 cm * 3 cm and wrapped in aluminium foil for 60, 70ºC. It was observed that the moisture
further studies. content of fruit leathers decreased exponentially
with the drying time for all temperatures. As the
2.3 Proximate Composition drying air temperature increased from 40-70ºC,
the drying curves exhibited steep slope indicating
All the chemicals used in the present research that the rate of moisture loss increased with
work were of analytical grade. The proximate increased in drying air temperature in cabinet
composition (moisture, crude fat, crude protein, dryer. The similar trend of results was notated by
total ash and crude fibre) were determined by [15]. The drying curves showed the temperature
A.O.A.C. [14] methods. The total carbohydrates dependency for moisture reduction which was
were determined by difference method. Crude slow at lower temperature (40-50º) with more
fibre was determined by following the method No time to reach desired moisture content safe for
32-10 as described in A.A.C.C. (2005). storage (16- 19%). The temperature dependency
for moisture loss was also notified by [7]. The
2.4 Statistical Analysis moisture loss at 70ºC was observed to be faster
compared to 40, 50, 60ºC temperatures.
ANOVA was used to identify any changes that However, this resulted in colour degradation of
were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The the leathers and gave chewy texture to the
statistical analysis and calculations were leathers. Hence the experimental finding showed
performed using the Statistical Analysis System that 60ºC drying air temperature was suitable for
version 9.21, and Microsoft Office Excel was obtaining good quality dried leather with a
used to analyze the sensory evaluation data. The moisture content of (16.32 -19.13%) and drying
calculation of means and standard deviations time of 7 hours. The temperature range of 50-
was followed by a one-way ANOVA to identify 60ºC for drying of fruit leather is supported by
any statistical differences between the mean [16].
values.

Fig. 2. Drying curve of mango leather

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 Shere et al.; J. Adv. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 60-65, 2023; Article no.JAFSAT.11633

Table 1. Proximate composition of raw materials

Raw materials Moisture (%) Carbohydrate (%) Crude Protein (%) Crude fat (%) Crude Fiber (%) Ash (%)
Mango pulp 80.63±0.045 14.39±0.86 0.61±0.040 0.42±0.021 0.79±0.020 0.52±0.04
Strawberry Pulp 93.57±1.54 11.12±0.12 2.64±0.55 0.35±0.04 2.9±0.05 0.51±0.14
(The values were mean ± standard deviation of three independent readings)

Table 2. Proximate composition of fruit leathers

Dehydrated Moisture Ash Crude fat Crude protein Dietary fiber (%) Carbohydrate
leathers (%) (%) (%) (%) Soluble Insoluble Total (%)
Mango leather 19.13± 0.02 1.98±0.01 1.56± 0.015 1.58±0.40 3.21± 0.14 10.85± 0.02 14.06±0.015 58.26±0.015
Strawberry leather 16.32± 0.08 2.11±0.01 0.9± 0.02 2.95± 0.06 6.04± 0.18 11.09± 0.015 17.13±0.045 73.31±0.3
(The values were mean ± standard deviation of three independent readings)

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 Shere et al.; J. Adv. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 60-65, 2023; Article no.JAFSAT.11633

Fig. 3. Drying curve of strawberry leather

3.2 Comparative Nutritional Profiling of temperature above 60ºC affected the colour and
Pulps and Leathers texture of leathers. Hence, 60ºC for 7 hour was
found to be optimum temperature. The proximate
3.2.1 Proximate composition of raw materials composition of leathers in comparison to fruit
pulps showed concentration of nutrients due to
The most crucial element in deciding the overall evaporation of moisture. This can rejuvenate the
quality of the completed product is the raw utilization of traditional fruit leathers into a satiety
material. The findings are presented in Table 1. providing fruit snack. Moreover, fruits are highly
The moisture content of fruit pulp was found to perishable due to their high moisture content, so
be higher in strawberry pulp (93.57%) and lower dehydrating them into leather will help to reduce
in mango pulp (80.63%). Strawberry pulp post-harvest losses and make seasonal fruits like
contained more crude protein (2.64%) and crude mango and strawberry available in off-season by
fiber (2.9%). On the other hand, mango pulp was extending their shelf life.
high in carbohydrates (14.39%) and crude ash
(0.52%). The mango and strawberry pulp results
COMPETING INTERESTS
are similar to those reported by Pawase et al.,
[17], Chakraborty et al., [18], and Srivastava et Authors have declared that no competing
al., [19] respectively. interests exist.
3.2.2 Proximate composition of mango and
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