Determination of Chemical Composition of Plums During Pre-Treatment and Drying

Thanks to drying, fruits are available on the market throughout the year. Parameters of drying conditions affect eg the content of bioactive compounds in the product. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of pretreatment conditions and the applied drying method on changes in the chemical composition of plums. Analyses were conducted on plums cv. 'Valor', which were subjected to pre-treatment including blanching, drilling and osmotic dehydration. Next they were dried by the convection method at air temperature of 60°C and flow rate of 1.5 m/s. Dehydration was run in a 61.5% sucrose solution at a temperature of 50°C for 1 or 2 h. Convection-dried plums, with no osmotic dehydration applied, constituted the reference sample. In fresh, dehydrated and dried fruits determinations included dry matter, polyphenols by colorimetry with the Folin reagent and contents of sugars by colorimetry using 3,5-DNS acid. As a result of blanching and dehydration the content of dry matter increased. Water loss after dehydration amounted to as much as 1.45 g H₂O/g d.m.₀ after 2 h in comparison with blanched plums. As a result of dehydration total contents of sugars and polyphenols in plums decreased (mg/100 g d.m.). In convection-dried prunes the content of polyphenols was by 30÷50% higher than in the raw material, but lower than in the reference sample.