The Effect of Different Drying Methods on Some Common Nigerian Edible Botanicals
Mercy Olayinka Oni1, Olaniyi Charlels Ogungbite2, Adenike Kehinde Akindele3
Citation : Mercy Olayinka Oni, Olaniyi Charlels Ogungbite, Adenike Kehinde Akindele, The Effect of Different Drying Methods on Some Common Nigerian Edible Botanicals International Journal of Advanced Research in Botany. 2015, 1(1) : 15-22
The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different drying methods on some common Nigerian leafy vegetables.The vegetable tested include T. occidentalis, B. alba, A. hybridus, T. triangulare, C. biafrae and C. rubens. All the vegetables were separately subjected to oven-drying, sun-drying, air-drying and freeze-drying and fresh samples was used as control. The proximate composition, anti-nutritional components and the mineral content of the dried samples was tested with each sample having five replicates. T. occidentale was found with highest content of Na and K regardless of the drying method used while the value of Mg, Zn, Mn and Fe decreases in relation to the drying method used, thus Oven drying < Sun drying< Air drying< freeze drying< fresh.T. occidentalis of 4.54g/100gDM and 0.67 g/100gDM of tannin and saponin respectively while B. alba recorded 6.05 g/100gDM of oxalate. Salkowski and Favonoid were both absent from all the vegetables regardless of the drying method used while Phlobatannin was found absent in oven dried and sun dried vegetables. Comparing the result obtained from the different drying methods, freeze drying method appeared more promising than other drying methods since it appears to maintain mineral content, anti nutritional components and proximate composition of the dried vegetables when compared to the control (fresh sample).