Food Research Institute

Gamboa-Santos, J. – Soria, A. C. – Corzo-Martínez, M. – Villamiel, M. – Montilla, A.
Effect of storage on quality of industrially dehydrated onion, garlic, potato and carrot
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 51, 2012, No. 3, s. 132-144

Mar Villamiel, Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL), Spanish National Research Council - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CSIC-UAM), Nicolás Cabrera 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain. Tel.: +34 910017951, fax: +34 910017905, e-mail: m.villamiel@csic.es

Summary: A comprehensive study on physical and chemical quality parameters has been carried out on several highly consumed vegetables that were industrially dehydrated (carrot, onion, garlic and potato). The quality parameters determined were: dry matter, water activity, rehydration ratio, protein pattern, total polyphenols, saccharides and 2-furoylmethyl amino acid (2-FM-AA) content. After dehydration process, the main observed chemical change was the formation of 2-FM-AA, indicating the participation of amino acids (mainly lysine) in Maillard reaction evolution. With respect to the effect of 12-month storage under conditions usually used by consumers (in the dark, 19–27 °C, 15–41% relative humidity), with the exception of carrots, no remarkable amounts of 2-FM-AA were generated, in agreement with the slight variation in proteins pattern and saccharide composition. Particularly interesting is the case of onion and garlic, whose content of fructooligosaccharides (recognized prebiotic saccharides) was preserved during storage. Samples were also stable with regard to their polyphenol content and rehydration ability, showing the importance of sample pre-treatment, processing and storage conditions for preservation of bioactivity and overall quality of dehydrated vege­tables. These results underline the usefulness of the indicators here determined for quality evaluation and the value of data reported for technologists, nutritionists and consumers.

Keywords: dehydrated vegetables; quality markers; storage; Maillard reaction; 2-furoylmethyl-amino acids; saccharides; proteins

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