Affiliation:
1. Gaziantep University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering
2. Iskenderun Technical University, Faculty of Tourism, Gastronomy and Culinary Arts
Abstract
Hawthorn (Crataegus) fruit, which is traditionally used as a folk medicine, has been commonly used in pharmaceuticals due to its positive neuro- and cardio-selective effects in recent years. Drying is a practical approach for the long-term storage of hawthorn fruits due to their high annual abundance. This study aimed to compare the effects of oven-drying and freeze-drying methods on the quality, bioactivity, volatiles, and surface structure of hawthorn fruits. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (IC50) were used to compare the bioactive properties of the fresh and dried fruits. The volatiles of fresh and dried hawthorn fruits were determined by GC-MS. The TPC and TFC of freeze-dried fruit extracts were markedly higher than those of fresh and oven-dried fruit extracts (p