1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Assam Agricultural University, Assam, India.
2 Professor, Food Science and Technology Programme, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Assam, India.
3 Professor, Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering and Technology, Malda, West Bengal, India
DOI : https://doi.org/10.58321/AATCCReview.2024.12.03.357
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Abstract
Banana pseudostems are nutrient-dense plant biomasses which are majorly wasted or burnt, leading to disruption of the environment as well as economy. In an attempt to prevent this, the present study was designed to assess the effect of drying Musa balbisiana Colla pseudostems on its nutritional composition. The process of drying was optimised using central composite design (CCD) technique of response surface methodology (RSM). Taking oven temperature and time as input variables and moisture content as response, a set of 19 experiments was designed and carried out. The results obtained showed that oven temperature and time had a significant (p < 0.05) influence on drying of the banana pseudostems. By using the optimum oven temperature (56ᵒC) and time (1186 min) led to a moisture content of a value as low as 4.03%. The dried pseudostems revealed an appreciable amount of dietary fibre, insoluble dietary fibre in particular and minerals like potassium, calcium, phosphorus and iron.