Processo de secagem de Morinda citrifolia L. em secador de radiação com lâmpadas refletoras, utilizando planejamento composto central rotacional

Abstract

Morinda citrifolia Linn, popularly known as Noni, is a plant in the Rubiaceae, family that has been used for many centuries in popular medicine. The ancestors of the Polynesians discovered the plant and there have been numerous reports of its therapeutic and nutritional properties. For that reason, it was decided to carry out a study with the fruits of the species Morinda citrifolia L., in order to encourage use of the fruit for consumption in people’s diet, as well as to confirm its functional potential after drying. In this research, the conditions for drying Noni fruits were studied, and the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained were assessed and quantified. In the drying process a dryer with reflecting lamps was used at the laboratory scale. In analyzing the process a statistical model was used as a basis, to quantify the effects of the entry variables in the Responses, by means of regression analyses through rotational central compound planning (PCCR) with two entry variables and five levels, employing temperature and size of the pulp as entry variables and final humidity level, antioxidant capacity and free radical sequestration activity as responses. It was observed that increasing the drying temperature led to a decrease in the final humidity level of Morinda citrifolia L fruits.The values of the responses observed varied from 0,01 a 3,50 bs, for drying; 1,32% a 38,8%, and 12,54 to 26,56(mg Eag/g) for phenolic levels.Within the experimental domain, only the variable of the isolated entry X1 (temperature) in the linear and quadratic forms were statistically influential on the Xbsresponse variable.