Effect of Drying Conditions on Ascorbic Acid of Dried Mint Leaves

The proper use of cabinet tray dryer helps to reduce the losses and improves the quality of product. The experiments were conducted to develop dehydrated mint leaves so as to enhance the availability of mint leaves during off season. In the present study, fresh mint leaves were categorized in to untreated leaves (control) and blanched treated in boiled water for 1 min. the leaves were dried at 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 kg/m² loading density with three levels of temperature (45°C, 55°C, 65°C) under cabinet tray dryer. Untreated mint leaves were also dried as control samples. Experiments were also conducted to study the effect of drying conditions on chlorophyll content and vitamin of dried mint leaves. The chlorophyll content and ascorbic acid content were found higher in untreated samples as compare to blanched treated samples.