Spray-Dried Jaboticaba Powder as Food Resource

Abstract

Jaboticaba, a popular Brazilian fruit, has recently garnered scientific interest due to its nutritional properties and high levels of bioactive compounds. However, this fruit is highly perishable due to its high moisture content and physical–chemical structure. Therefore, it is imperative to employ methods for preserving it and explore its potential as a food resource. This study investigates the use of a spray drying method to dehydrate whole jaboticaba fruits. The effects of air temperature (T) ranging from 67.9 to 132.1 °C, air flow rate (AF) from 1.54 to 1.86 m3/min, maltodextrin concentration (M) from 8.9 to 41.1%, and feed flow rate (FF) from 0.36 to 0.84 L/h on the moisture content, drying yield, and bioactive compounds (total phenolic, total flavonoid, citric acid, and ascorbic acid contents) were quantified. The results indicate that spray drying can produce a powder with reduced moisture content levels, a satisfactory drying yield, and high levels of bioactive compounds if performed under specific conditions. An optimization study using desirability analysis shows that having T, AF, M, and FF at 132.1 °C, 1.86 m3/min, 15.0%, and 0.4549 L/h, respectively, is the optimal condition for the studied variables. Spray drying has proven to be a very promising alternative for jaboticaba processing, enabling better applications as a food resource.