Retention of Vitamin C in Drying Processes of Fruits and Vegetables—A Review

Abstract

This article presents a review of drying processes of fruits and vegetables in which vitamin C degradation was considered. Vitamin C is an important and essential nutrient for humans and it can be taken as an index of nutrient quality of processes. Many researchers have reported the effect of different drying methods and the influence of drying conditions on the vitamin C content. In addition, the effect of other parameters related to the sample structure or to pretreatments on the final quality of the dried product is discussed. Vitamin C degradation mechanisms proposed in the literature, models applied to describe its kinetics, and recent advances in drying processes aiming high retention of this nutrient are also provided.

Keywords:

• Ascorbic acid
• Degradation kinetics
• Drying methods

Notes

¹The authors were contacted by e-mail and reported that those results were preliminary and more investigation has been done; the results will be published soon.

∗The product names are the same used by the authors.