Abstract
Lemongrass is a well-known aromatic herb due to its strong lemony odour which
contributes to several volatile compounds such as citral, β–myrcene and limonene.
Volatile compounds of the aromatic herb are consequently difficult to restrain due to
high volatility and adverse effect caused by thermal treatment applied during
processing. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of different
drying methods on the morphological structure, colour profile and citral concentration
of lemongrass powder. Lemongrass powder was prepared by drying the fresh
lemongrass stalks with oven drying, vacuum drying and freeze-drying. The yield of
lemongrass powder resulted after drying processes were in the range of 9.92-11.09%.
The morphology structures of all lemongrass powders were flake-like structure,
irregular size, shrunk and appeared of pores. The freeze-dried powder was brighter in
colour with L* value of 84.51 ± 1.64 and obtained the highest citral concentration of
321.41 ± 19.97 ppm. This study suggested that freeze-drying was the suitable method
for preserving the colour qualities and citral compound of lemongrass powder. The
freeze-dried powder of lemongrass has high potential to be applied in the food and
beverage products.
Muhamad Asri, Faridah Yahya, Wan Mustapha. (2019) Effect of different drying methods on the morphological structure, colour profile and citral concentration of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) powder, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume 7, Issue 1.
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