Agricultural Science Digest

Papaya leaves botanically classified as Carica papaya and are used medicinally in teas to aid in digestion. The Carica Papaya leaves are often considered as wastes, but they are actually beneficial for health. The study was aimed to achieve the suitable drying parameters of operation that makes the drying process to complete in less time without effecting the keeping quality of the product.

The study was conducted using 3 drying methods which consisted of tray drying at temperatures 50°C, 60°C and 70°C, microwave drying at power levels 20% (180 Watts), 30% (270 Watts) and 40% (360 Watts), microwave vacuum drying at pressures of vacuum 400 mmHg, 500 mmHg and 600 mmHg and power levels 20% (180 Watts), 30% (270 Watts) and 40% (360 Watts). Twelve different mathematical drying models were compared based on their correlation coefficient, root mean square error and reduced chi-square to estimate the drying curves.

Experimental results showed that page model and weibulls distribution gave the best results, evidenced by the highest average correlation coefficient value of 0.9796, lowest average RMSE (Root mean square error) value of 0.0286 lowest average SSE value of 0.014 and the reduced average 𝑥² value of 0.0019. It is concluded that page model and weibulls distribution could sufficiently describe the tray drying, microwave and microwave vacuum drying respectively of carica papaya leaves.