Received: 17 October 2017 | Revised: 13 December 2017 | Accepted: 17 December 2017

DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.13595

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Changes in the composition of tomato powder (Lycopersicon

esculentum Mill) resulting from different drying methods

Aline Jorge1 | Elenise Sauer Leal1 | Rodrigo Sequinel2 | Thiago Sequinel3 |

Evaldo Toniolo Kubaski4 | Sergio Mazurek Tebcherani1

1
Department of Production Engineering,
Federal University of Technology – Paran

a,
Abstract
Av. Monteiro Lobato km 04, Ponta Grossa, Heating drying processes may cause undesirable changes in tomato composition and loss of qual-
PR 84016-210, Brazil ity, mainly in bioactive components. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of oven
2
Departament of Exacts and Engineering, drying, heated air flow, and freeze-drying on blanched and unblanched tomatoes. This allows
Campus Palotina, Federal University of
choosing drying conditions with less undesirable changes. The contents of sugar, citric acid, ascor-
Parana (UFPR), R. Pioneiro 2153, Palotina,
PR 85950-000, Brazil bic acid, lycopene, b-carotene, and total phenolic compounds, and 5-hydroxy-2-furaldehyde (HMF)
3
Faculty of Exact Sciences and Technology formation were evaluated. Results revealed that samples with lower sugar content also showed
(FACET), Federal University of Grande higher level of HMF. The heated air flow lead to low HMF formation, low reduction of sugar and a
Dourados (UFGD), Rodovia Dourados/
higher concentration of lycopene, b-carotene, phenolics, and ascorbic acid. Freeze drying lead to
Itahum Km12, Dourados, MS 79804-970,
Brazil low levels of carotenes in the end product. In conclusion, fractions of lycopene, b-carotene, phe-
4
Department of Materials Engineering, nolics were increased by blanching, and losses of sugars, HMF, ascorbic acid were related to
State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG), blanching.
Av. General Carlos Cavalcanti 4748,
Ponta Grossa, PR 84030-900, Brazil Practical applications
The actual applications of this research are to evaluate the behavior of bioactive components in
Correspondence
tomatoes that underwent different drying methods. Different processing parameters may lead to
Aline Jorge, Department of Production
Engineering, Federal University of undesirable changes in composition of tomatoes and cause loss of quality in dried products. The
Technology – Paran
a, Av. Monteiro Lobato potential applications are to evaluate which parameters are capable to maintain the higher quality
km 04, Ponta Grossa, PR 84016-210, Brazil. levels in the end product.
Email: jorge.a.utfpr@gmail.com

Funding information
CNPq (Brazil’s National Council for
Scientific and Technological Development),
Grant/Award Numbers: 304675/2016-4
and 305970/2015-1

1 | INTRODUCTION concentration of important bioactive compounds, for example,

Drying processes are largely used to increase shelf life of several food-
stuffs, reducing volume, facilitating transportation, or storage and con-
centrating the main components. Drying methods that involve heating
usually cause changes in the product because they require long periods
of exposure to heat.
However, most drying processes involves heating systems,
since they require lower investment and have easier operation.
Several studies in literature mention that heating cause significant
degradations in food products (John, Haile, Zhenbin, & Wenjuan,
2012; Mashabela, Selahle, Soundy, Crosby, & Sivakumar, 2015;
Ratti, 2001). This is related to losses higher than 30% in the
ascorbic acid. Moreover, few studies are found in literature discus-
sing the degradation of bioactive compounds when subjected

-
to industrial processing involving heat. Two of them, Vallverdu
Queralt,
n,
Medina-Remo Casals-Ribes, and Lamuela-Raventos
(2012) and Chang and Liu (2007) suggest that the concentration of
some phytochemicals (phenolic compounds, antioxidants, caro-
tenes) may increase during industrial processing. Conversely, these
processes can generate new chemical conformations of pigments,
such as lycopene, b-carotene, and ascorbic acid, facilitating degra-
dation reactions such as oxidative cleavage (Chanforan, Loonis,
Mora, Caris-Veyrat, & Dufour, 2012), which reduces or transforms
these compounds during long periods of heating or storage.

J Food Process Preserv. 2018;e13595. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpp V

C 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1 of 8
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.13595
2 of 8 | JORGE
Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), fresh or processed, are
one of the vegetables most widely consumed in the world. Considering
the most recent data, China is the greatest producer of tomatoes
(50,664 thousand tons), followed by India (18,227 thousand tons), and
United States (12,656 thousand tons) (FAO, 2013). Turkey and Tunisia
present the highest per capita consumption of tomato and tomatoes
products with 98.62 kg/per capita and 83.91 kg/per capita, respec-
~a, Branco, Bittencourt, and
tively. According to Sanjinez-Argandon
Munhoz (2011), tomatoes are mostly consumed in the fresh form,
although the popularity and consumption of dried tomatoes has
increased due to changes in the eating habits of consumers. The dried
tomato is a product differentiated from others in terms of both
processing and commercialization.
Long life tomatoes are planted in sandy-clayey soil with pH 5,5 to
6,5 in tropical weather, which corresponds to the characteristics of the
region where the study was developed. This variety of hybrid tomato is
resulted directly or indirectly from cultivars developed for industrial
processing in the 1950s and 1960s (Vecchia & Koch, 2000). Arbex de
Castro Vilas Boas, Page, Giovinazzo, Bertin, and Fanciullino (2017),
argue that depending on weather, soil nutrition, and management prac-
tices fruits may have modifications in its composition.
Fruits and vegetables are naturally rich in micronutrients and anti-
oxidant substances (Oloyede, Agbaje, Obuotor, & Obisesan, 2012).
Tomatoes have high contents of phenolic compounds, antioxidants
(ascorbic acid), and carotenes (lycopene and b-carotene).
Lycopene is one of the carotenes found in fruits, and is responsible
for the red color of tomatoes as well as of fruits such as guava (Psidium
guajava L.) or papaya (Carica papaya) or star cherry (Eugenia uniflora)
(Rodriguez-Amaya & Kimura, 2004). According to Alshatwi et al.
(2010), the lycopene in processed tomato products is more readily bio-
available due to the effect of heating on the conformation of the chem-
ical structure of this compound. Eyiler and Oztan (2011) point out that
a high consumption of processed tomato products is related to a high
concentration of lycopene, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular
and digestive diseases and prostate cancers.
According to Mertz, Brat, Caris-Veyrat, and Gunata (2010), the
combined action of ascorbic acid and carotenes is strongly antioxidant.
Conversely, Koh, Charoenprasert, and Mitchell (2012) reported that
ascorbic acid is thermally labile and tends to be reduced during proc-
essing by long exposure to heat. Ascorbic acid degrades easily to
dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA), which also presents vitamin C activity.
However, DHAA can, in turn, quickly hydrolyze to diketogulonic acid
(DKGA), which shows no biological activity (Mertz et al., 2010).
Bravo et al. (2013) stated that tomato is a very important food
item for humans because of the protective effect against cardiovascular
diseases and cancer afforded by its bioactive compounds. In fact,
Oloyede et al. (2012) conducted in vitro studies and demonstrated that
antioxidants can offer a protective effect against damage caused by
free radicals, reducing the occurrence of such diseases.
The concentration of bioactive compounds may vary slightly
according to the stage of ripeness of tomatoes (Oloyede et al., 2012),
and may also depend on climate and environmental characteristics, as
well as farm management practices. Most fresh vegetables are highly
ET AL.
perishable products that must be consumed quickly after harvesting
and reaching the consumer’s table. The storage of vegetables for longer
periods requires processing of the fresh product. According to Doymaz
and Pala (2002), one of the most common treatments for the conserva-
tion of fruits is the drying process.
Other compounds directly responsible for changes in the product
during processing are reducing sugars, resulted from Maillard reactions.
When heated in the presence of amines and acids, these compounds
induce the formation of 5-hydroxy-2-furaldehyde (HMF). (Ariffin,
Ghazali, & Kavousi, 2014) This causes the loss of amino acids and
decreases the sugar content, since it reacts to form a compound with
no nutritional function Drying also leads to losses in quality resulting
from the occurrence of caramelization and the Maillard reaction, degra-
dation of pigments and oxidation of L-ascorbic acid (Zhao et al., 2013),
contributing for the dark color and changes in the product’s flavor.
In this context, the objective of this work is to evaluate the possi-
ble changes in bioactive compounds, sugar and HMF formation in
unblanched and blanched long-life tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum
Mill) subjected to different drying processes: oven drying, heated air
flow and freeze-drying. It can be highlighted that the heated air flow
method uses low cost equipment and can be sized to be adequate for
either small producers or large companies.
2 | MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1 | Sample selection and preparation
For the experiments, long-life tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill)
were purchased from a single producer in Ponta Grossa, state of
Paran
a, Brazil (258040 27.300 S 508060 19.400 W). The maturity stage was
defined visually by the color of intense red, steady firmness and regular
shape, also total soluble solids in 48 6 0,5 Brix.
Whole tomatoes were washed and submerged for 20 min in a
solution of 1 L of water at 4 8C 6 2 8C and 150 ppm of 5% sodium
hypochlorite (Synth), followed by rinsing under flowing water.
The tomatoes were quartered and the seeds removed, and divided
into two groups, A and B. Group A was pretreated by blanching, which
involved placing the tomato quarters in a sieve and exposing them to
boiling water steam for 5 min. The tomatoes in Group B were not
blanched.
Groups A and B were then subdivided and subjected to three dif-
ferent drying processes: conventional drying in an oven with mechani-
cal air circulation, freeze drying, and drying in a bench-scale heated air
flow system.
2.2 | Drying processes
The first drying process was carried out in a conventional oven
dryer with mechanical air circulation (Fanem, 320-SE) at 70 8C 6 2 8C
for 24 hr.
The second drying process was performed in a freeze dryer
(LIOTOP L101) at 256 8C 6 4 8C and vacuum pressure of 8.8 3 1026
MPa for 48 hr.
JORGE ET AL.
The third drying process was performed in a heated air flow sys-
tem. The bench-scale heated air flow process uses a closed system
with forced ventilation. The air flows through a connection tube into a
heating chamber. The air in the chamber is heated to the desired tem-
perature, which is controlled by a thermocouple placed inside the
chamber. The chamber quickly heats the air flowing directly to
the sieve compartment containing the samples, which has an outlet to
the environment. Another thermocouple is placed next to the sieve.
Heating sterilizes the air, which then passes through the samples with-
out contaminating them. In this drying process, the tomatoes were
arranged on the sieve in the heating chamber, where they were left for
20 hr under a hot air flux of 70 8C.
The drying treatments were finished when the texture of the prod-
uct became crispy, corresponding to a moisture content of 6% 62.
After all the dehydration treatments, tomato powder was obtained
using a Walita® food multiprocessor.
2.3 | Determination of citric acid and sugars
To prepare the sample, 2.0 g of tomato powder were weighed and
mixed into 20 mL of ultrapure water (Milli-Q Integral®, Millipore®, S~ao
Paulo, SP, Brazil), and the solution was stirred for 10 min in a magnetic
stirrer at room temperature. The solution was then centrifuged for 20
min at 20 8C at a speed of 10,000 rpm, after which the supernatant
was removed and filtered through a 0.45 mm syringe filter (Sartorius).
Analyses were carried out in a HPLC system equipped with a
quaternary pump (Waters 2695, Milford MA), a degasser and an auto
sampler injector coupled to a diode array detector (Waters 2998,
Milford, MA), followed by a refraction index (RI) detector (Waters RI
2414, Milford MA). The chromatographic data were processed
with Empower® 2 software. Separation was performed in an Aminex
HPX-87H ion exclusion column (300 3 7.8 mm) preceded by a cationic
column guard Cation-H (Bio-Rad) using 6 mM of sulfuric acid with
ultra-pure water as the mobile phase, operating in isocratic mode at
0.5 mL min21. The injection volume was 10 mL, with column compart-
ment and RI detector set at 30 8C.
21
Calibration curves were built at intervals of 2 to 20 mg.mL
fructose (Sigma Aldrich), 2 to 20 mg.mL21 for glucose (Sigma Aldrich),
and 0.2 to 2% for citric acid (Sigma Aldrich).
2.4 | Determination of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-
furaldehyde
Samples were prepared using 2.5 g of tomato powder and 10 mL of
ethanol/water (60:40), which were mixed and centrifuged (10,000 rpm)
for 30 min at 20 8C. The supernatant was removed and filtered through
a 0.45 mm syringe filter (Sartorius).
HMF was quantified using a modified version of the HPLC method
described by Porretta and Sandei (1991). A C18 Luna Kinetex column
(4.6 3 250 mm 3 5 mm particle size) operating in isocratic mode was
used, with water/methanol (80:20) as the mobile phase. The injection
21
volume was 20 mL and the column flow was 1.5 mL.min . Column
compartment and UV-Vis detector (at 283 nm) were set at 30 8C.
| 3 of 8
The calibration curve was built using HMF standard (Sigma
Aldrich), from 0.01 to 10 mg.mL21.
2.5 | Determination of ascorbic acid
Samples were prepared by weighing four grams of tomato powder and
mixing it into 40 mL of 0.003 M phosphoric acid solution (Synth 85%).
The solution was stirred with a magnetic stirrer for 15 min at room
temperature, and centrifuged for 60 min at 4 8C. The supernatant
was filtered under vacuum pressure through quantitative filter paper
(J Prolab) with 8 mm pores, and then forced through a 0.45 mm syringe
filter (Sartorius). Samples were stored in the dark in an amber flask at
218 8C.
Analysis was performed in a C18 Luna Kinetex column (4.6 3
150 mm 3 5 mm particle size) operating in isocratic mode at 1.0 mL.
min21, using an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid 0.003 M as mobile
phase. Column compartment and UV-Vis detector (245 nm) were set at
30 8C. The injection volume was 20 mL.
The calibration curve for ascorbic acid was built from 1.2 to
120 mg.mL21 (Sigma Aldrich).
2.6 | Determination of phenolic compounds
Total phenolic compounds were quantified by the adapted Folin–
Ciocalteu method (Toor and Savage, 2005). Distilled water of 8.4 mL,
0.1 mL of tomato juice, or catechin standard (Sigma Aldrich) for blanch-
ing, and 0.5 mL of Folin–Ciocalteu reagent were poured into test tubes.
After 3 min of reaction, 1 mL of saturated sodium carbonate (20%) was
added to each tube and homogenized. After 1 h, the absorbance was
read in a spectrophotometer (Femto 800XI) operating at a wavelength
of 720 nm.
2.7 | Carotenes
For carotenoid extractions, 1 g of tomato powder was mixed with
40 mL of acetone (Sigma Aldrich) at 48 C 6 2 for 30 min, and kept in an
amber flask for 12 hr under refrigeration. The samples were filtered in
for
vacuum with a quantitative paper (J Prolab) with 8 mm of pore size, fol-
lowed by filtration in a 0.45 mm syringe filter (Sartorius).
Quantification was developed under HPLC based in the method
described by Lavelli, Peri e Rizzolo (2000), using a Luna C18 column
(4,6 3 150 mm 3 5 m particle size). Temperature was kept at 30 8C in
column compartment, using a UV/Vis detector, with wave length at
470 nm. The mobile phase was 95% methanol (Sigma Aldrich) and 5%
tetrahydrofuran (Sigma Aldrich) in isocratic mode and the flux was
1.0 mL.min21. The injection volume of sample was 20 mL.
The calibration curve for lycopene was built from 20 to
240 mg.mL21. using a purified lycopene as reference standard. The
lycopene was purified by the method described by (Alves, Silva,
Carvalho, Vissotto, & Bragagnolo, 2010) and Rodriguez-Amaya and
Kimura (2004). The calibration curve for b-carotene was built from
0.2 to 45 mg.mL using b-carotene analytical standard provided by
Sigma Aldrich.
4 of 8 | JORGE ET AL.

T AB LE 1 Fresh tomato composition (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) An overall analysis of Table 1 reveals the concentration of bioac-
tive compounds and antioxidants in fresh tomatoes, which are benefi-
Compound Fresh tomato
cial to humans. The fruit shows a low amount of sugars and citric acid,
Moisture 94.50 6 0.09 (%)
which is due to the high level of moisture in the product, whose initial
Fructose 1.19 6 0.01 (g/100 g) content is 94.50%. The presence of HMF was not detected in fresh
Glucose 1.88 6 0.01 (g/100 g) tomatoes, since this compound is formed exclusively in response to

Citric Acid 0.44 6 0.01 (g/100 g) heat.

Ascorbic acid 99.71 6 1.37 (mg/100 g)

Phenolic compounds 45.91 6 0.48 (mg/g) 3.1 | Sugar, citric acid, and formation of HMF
Lycopene 0.339 6 0.16 (mg/100 g) To determine the concentration and degree of degradation of the sugar
b-carotene 0.028 6 0.11 (mg/100 g) content in dried tomatoes, the reducing sugars, fructose and glucose

Note. The table presents the average levels of the triplicates experimen-
tal runs in triplicate and the respective standard deviation.
2.8 | Statistical analysis
All experimental runs were performed in triplicate. The data were sub-
jected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and to Tukey’s test by paired
comparisons of the mean and standard deviations of the results of all
the samples to determine which treatments differed, establishing a
minimum significance level of 5% (p  .05). The statistical analyses
were performed using SASM-Agri software (Canteri, Althaus, Virgens
Filho, Giglioti, & Godoy, 2001).
3 | RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The long-life variety of tomatoes was chosen due to the facility of
purchasing, since the amount used for this study is easily found in local
productions, so the traceability is known. This variety is mostly
consumed in its fresh form, especially in salads or homemade sauces.
Table 1 describes the composition of fresh tomatoes. This analysis was
necessary to verify the presence of compounds of interest to the study
and to enable later comparison between fresh tomatoes and tomato
powders obtained by the proposed drying processes. The compounds of
interest were ascorbic acid, total phenolics, lycopene, and b-carotene.
content normally found in tomatoes was measured. As mentioned ear-
lier, these data can indicate the formation of compounds responsible
for the dark color of dried tomatoes, complemented by the quantifica-
tion of HMF in samples. In addition, citric acid was measured because
it interferes in the formation of HMF. Table 2 lists the reducing sugars,
citric acid, and HMF contents. Tukey’s tests were used to compare
these results within Groups A and B, which correspond to blanched
and unblanched samples, respectively.
The development of dark compounds in dried tomatoes may be
related to the Maillard reaction, which occurs by the interaction of
amino acids and reducing sugars such as fructose and glucose and the
hydrolysis of sucrose (Liu, Cao, Wang, & Liao, 2010). The fructose and
glucose contents in Groups A and B varied only slightly in samples
processed by freeze drying and by heated air flow. However, the differ-
ence in glucose content of the samples processed by oven drying in
the two groups was significant. In addition, the standard deviation
among the triplicate experiments was low, leading to the inference that
freeze drying and heated air flow resulted in very similar fructose and
glucose concentrations. The low concentration of HMF in tomato
dehydrated by heated air flow is also attributed to the slight increase in
citric acid concentration in the tomato powder of Group A, as well as
the low loss of glucose in this same sample. According to Rada-
Mendoza, Sanz, Olano, and Villamiel (2004), the reducing sugars are
dehydrated in acid medium leads to formation of HMF. Since the

T AB LE 2 Contents of fructose, glucose, citric acid, and HMF in tomato powders

Group A Group B
Oven drying Freeze drying Heated air flow Oven drying Freeze drying Heated air flow

Fructose (g/100 g) 26.43 6 0.03

a
22.16 6 0.41
c
23.18 6 0.08
b
25.38 6 0.01
a
21.77 6 0.06
c
22.28b 6 0.12

Glucose (g/100 g) 7.70c 6 0.01 12.12a 6 0.14 11.01b 6 0.08 6.10c 6 0.01 12.30a 6 0.03 10.82b 6 0.05

Citric Acid (g/100 g) 5.64a 6 0.03 3.31c 6 0.23 4.55b 6 0.10 6.51a 6 0.04 3.06c 6 0.01 4.51b 6 0.10

HMF (mg/100 g) 469.66a 6 5.37 0.0 7.35b 6 2.47 901.19a 6 7.68 0.0 0.0

Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g) 32.82 6 8,80

c
51.43 6 2.05
b
59.20 6 1.24
a
59.30 6 7.96
a
35.89 6 1.96
b
62.33a6 6.96

Total phenolic compounds (mg/g) 330.96a 6 8.25 123.02c 6 5.87 273.74b 6 1.37 306.75a 6 1.37 115.87c6 3.83 242.07b 6 0.69

Lycopene (mg/100 g) 404.3c 6 0.29 691.8b 6 0.47 770.1a 6 0.61 472.7b 6 1.37 456.5b 6 0.3 827.9a 6 0.5

b-Carotene (mg/100 g) 211.7b 60.03 205.3b60.07 272.6a 60.07 103.8c 6 0.01 187.6a 6 0.012 119.8b 6 0.04

Note. Values with equal lower case letters do not differ by the Tukey test (p  .05), at a significance level of 95%. The table presents the average levels
of the triplicates of each time/method of drying and respective standard deviation.
JORGE ET AL.
concentration of citric acid was lower than in oven dried samples, the
conversion of sugars into HMF was also lower.
The tomato powder processed by oven drying showed a difference
of more than 30% in the reduction of glucose content in comparison to
the other two methods. In addition, the highest concentration of citric
acid was found in the oven-dried samples of both Groups A and B.
Consequently, the presence of citric acid catalyzed the transformation
of glucose into HMF, since the glucose content in both groups
decreased while the HMF content increased.
Intense HMF formation occurred in the oven drying process, and a
comparison of the results of Groups A and B revealed a marked differ-
ence in HMF content. Blanched samples presented an HMF content of
469.66 mg/100 g, which corresponds to 52% of the total HMF content
found in unblanched samples subjected to the same drying process.
The formation of HMF in tomatoes dehydrated by heated air flow
was less intense than in the oven-dried samples, corresponding to
1.56% in relation to the oven-dried samples of Group A. This indicates
that the heated air flow process causes less degradation of the product
during drying. The HMF concentrations Group B processed by heated
air flow were lower than the limit of detection of the HMF determining
method.
HMF was not detected in the tomato powder samples of both
groups dehydrated by freeze-drying. This fact was attributed to the
absence of heating in this process. Although the tomatoes were
exposed to heat during blanching, their exposure time was insufficient
to trigger the darkening reaction.
When the product is heated for long periods of time, glucose
degrades, and may form melanoidins resulting from the Maillard reac-
tion. In addition, the presence of organic acids, free amino acids, and
the oxidation of ascorbic acid during the process performed at high
temperatures can strongly catalyze the Maillard reaction (Fennema,
1996). Confirming that, Muratore, Rizzo, Licciardello, and Maccarone
(2008) studied drying processes of cherry tomatoes in temperatures
varying from 40 8C to 80 8C and showed the highest concentrations
were found in samples dried at the highest temperature. Furthermore,
Zanoni, Peri, Nani, and Lavelli (1998) describes that the formation of
HMF and products of Maillard reactions are affected by the presence
of natural antioxidants in the products, corresponding to lower HMF
formation when the loss of lycopene and ascorbic acid are lower.
The literature contains a few studies about the changes that occur
in dehydrated fruits, mainly about the darkening reactions of dried
tomatoes. For example, (Hodge, 1953) evaluated the formation of HMF
and dark compounds in the presence of acids, and found that this
change was caused by the transformation of fructose into HMF in the
presence of malic acid at temperatures of 60 8C to 70 8C in acid pH solu-
tion. However, some studies discuss the formation of HMF in honey
from D-glucose
-Aguayo. Soliva-Fortuny, & Martín-Belloso,
(Aguilo
2009). These reports explained that HMF can be formed during either
heating or the nonrefrigerated storage of products that contain reduc-
ing sugars in the presence of aminated compounds. The reaction of
HMF with other compounds leads to the formation of dark compounds.
This fact explains the reduction of glucose and the increase in intensity
dark color of dried products along the heating period. Liu et al. (2010)
| 5 of 8
mention that HMF and Browning Index are important quality indicators
of products during processing and they may directly affect the sensory
and nutritional quality of tomato powders.
3.2 | Ascorbic acid degradation
The ascorbic acid content in fresh tomato was analyzed (Table 1) and
compared with the content after the different drying processes. Fresh
tomatoes showed an average concentration of ascorbic acid 100%
higher than that of tomato powders after all the drying treatments.
According to Gamboa-Santos et al. (2014), ascorbic acid is the most
variable compound in fruits during drying processes. As can be seen in
Table 2, the decrease in ascorbic acid concentrations ranged from 41%
to 77% in the different treatments of Group A, when compared to the
concentration of this compound in fresh fruits. Gamboa-Santos et al.
(2014) reported similar results in their quantification of ascorbic acid in
strawberries dehydrated at 70 8C, with 40% to 70% of losses after dry-
ing, indicating that high losses of ascorbic acid occurred in response to
increasing temperatures.
Among the blanched treatments (Group A), oven-dried tomato
powder showed the lowest concentration of ascorbic acid (Table 2),
indicating that this process resulted in a significant loss of this com-
pound. The freeze-drying and heated air flow drying treatments caused
lower losses of ascorbic acid, although they were significant when com-
pared with the content in fresh tomatoes. Demiray, Tulek, and Yilmaz
(2013) reported that the ascorbic acid content in tomatoes dehydrated
at 100 8C for 5 hr was 9.23 mg/100 g or less. This result is similar to
the content quantified in oven-dried samples, indicating that longer
processing times may promote similar losses as a result of exposure to
high temperatures.
Ascorbic acid losses in the samples of Group B showed a lower
variation, that is, from 37% to 64%, which indicates the greater stability
of this compound during the drying processes of blanched samples.
Demiray et al. (2013), who studied the kinetics of ascorbic acid degra-
dation in dehydrated tomatoes, found that it is the most easily
degraded compound during dehydration. The freeze-dried tomatoes in
Group B showed the highest loss of ascorbic acid. However,
Santos-S
anchez, Valadez-Blanco, Go

mez-Go

mez, Pe

rez-Herrera, and
Salas-Coronado (2012) reported that air is a very important contribut-
ing factor in the degradation of ascorbic acid, even when processing is
performed at low temperatures. Marfil, Santos, and Telis (2008)
reported a 35% loss of ascorbic acid after an osmotic pretreatment,
and also stated that a loss of up to 21% may occur during the storage
of fruits for a period of 7 days. In this regard, it can be suggested that
the loss of ascorbic acid may have been due to the pretreatment by
steam blanching, in view of the hydrosolubility of this compound, and
that the storage time after drying until the analysis may also have cause
some degradation.
3.3 | Effect of drying on phenolic compounds
After all drying treatments, the concentration of total phenolic com-
pounds was higher in comparison to that of fresh tomatoes (Tables 1
6 of 8 | JORGE
and 2) in Groups A and B. As can be seen in Table 2, the highest and
lowest phenolic compound concentrations were detected after the
oven drying and freeze drying treatments, respectively. Table 2 shows
a more pronounced increase in the phenolic compound concentration
in tomatoes processed at high temperatures, such as those applied in
oven drying and heated air flow.
The value quantified experimentally in fresh tomatoes (Table 1)
was lower than the concentration of 76.17 mg/100 g reported by
Babiker and Eltoum (2014) for fresh tomatoes, and higher than that
reported by Barros et al. (2012).
The tomato powders in Group B showed the highest loss of phe-
nolic compounds. This result indicates the greater stability of the
blanched group (Group A) in response to heat during drying. However,
Babiker and Eltoum (2014) tested the same blanching treatment before
different tomato drying processes and reported some degradation of
phenolic compounds when samples were steam blanched before
drying.

n, Casals-Ribes, and Lamuela-

-Queralt, Medina-Remo
Vallverdu
Raventos (2012) evaluated the effect of various thermal treatments on
tomato puree, and described the destruction of cells containing pheno-
lic compounds during the process. As a result, the content of phenolic
compounds available for quantification was higher. The results are con-
sistent with the low concentrations of this compound found in tomato
powder processed by freeze drying. In fact, according to the literature
(Hassan Ghajar, & Hashemabadi, 2011; Pisano, Barresi, & Fissore,
2011), this process is less aggressive to the tissues of dried fruit
products.
It is important to keep in mind that the chemical composition of
fruits may vary considerably depending on numerous factors. Barros
et al. (2012) reported that variations may occur in the composition of
fruits from one plant to another, depending on the cultivar, cultivation
management strategies, processing parameters, and storage character-

n, Casals-Ribes,

-Queralt, Medina-Remo
istics. In addition, Vallverdu
Andres-Lacueva, et al. (2012) attempted to determine the effects of
pesticides on the nutritional composition of tomatoes but were unable
to obtain sufficient data to determine such effects.
3.4 | Heat-related changes in carotenes
Lycopene and b-carotene were quantified in the tomato powders proc-
essed by all the drying treatments to evaluate the effects of time, dry-
ing temperature, and blanching in each drying process.
As can be seen in Table 2, all the tomato powders in Groups A and
B showed concentrated carotene contents. In this regard, the highest
contents of both lycopene and b-carotene were detected in tomato
dehydrated for 18 hr by the heated air flow. This finding indicates that
the presence of carotenes is intensified in dehydrated products.
Panozzo et al. (2013) explained that the carotene content may also
increase after the drying process because the process releases caro-
tenes from their cell matrices, which facilitates the extraction of caro-
tenes for quantification. Koh et al. (2012), who found a concentration
of 400% in lycopene content in processed tomato paste, attributed the
ET AL.
increase found in tomato powder (Table 2) to a small amount of mois-
ture in the end product.
Similar results for lycopene quantification were found by Honda
et al. (2017), who extracted lycopene from freeze dried tomato sam-
ples, and also found reduction in its content when heating temperature
was increased from 6.1% in fresh fruit to to 10.0% and 56.2% after
thermal treatment at 120 8C and 150 8C for 1 hr, respectively.
The proportions of lycopene and b-carotene in total carotenoids
were similar to the results found by Strati and Oreopoulou (2016),
varying from 65% to 87% for lycopene and 12% to 34% for b-carotene
content.
Carotene contents also increase as a result of the modification
of the trans-lycopene structure to its respective cis-lycopene
form. According to Mertz et al. (2010), the cis-isomerization of trans-
b-carotene is responsible for the increase in carotene concentration.
Temperatures below 80 8C favor the increase in carotenoid concentra-
tions, and degradation reactions begin when the temperature reaches
90 8C (Colle et al., 2013). However, Maqsood, Omer, and Eldin (2015),
describes lycopene degradation may occur in temperatures above
100 8C and also when tomatoes are exposed to long treatments, for
example, sun drying.
Different conditions and parameters used in drying treatments
may lead to different levels of lycopene degradation (Zanoni et al.,
1998; Zhao et al., 2013). In processed tomato products, isomerization
and autoxidation of lycopene can reduce the lycopene content, reduc-
ing the all-trans-lycopene fractions and resulting in color losses and the
development of off-flavors from fatty compounds (Anguelova &
Warthesen, 2000).
Panozzo et al. (2013), conversely, stated that carotenes are difficult
to remove when the pressure during processing increases, which
explains the low lycopene and b-carotene contents in the tomato pow-
ders of Groups A and B dehydrated by freeze-drying.
Demiray et al. (2013) stated that the main factors that influence the
degradation reactions occurring in tomato compounds are process tem-
perature and time. Among the drying processes under study (Table 2),
oven drying promoted the highest degradation of lycopene and
b-carotene contents. This degradation stems from prolonged exposure
to high temperatures. However, lycopene is predominantly in all-trans-
configurations and processing may lead to cis-isomers, which are suscep-
tible to oxidation and present lower bioactivity (Strati & Oreopoulou,
2016). This explains the lower contents of lycopene in oven dried sam-
ples; these samples are exposed to longer processing periods.
Conversely, the results of products processed by heated air flow
presented higher lycopene contents, applying conditions of 20 min at
120 8C, which is consistent with information reported in the literature,
according to which heating may cause the content of this compound to
increase (Colle et al., 2013; Seybold, Frohlich, Bitsch, Otto, & Bohm,
2004).
Among the treatments of Group A, the b-carotene content result-
ing from the freeze-drying and heated air flow treatments differed sig-
nificantly, indicating that heated air flow did not degrade this
compound. In comparison to low-temperature heated air flow, it did
not promote significant losses during the drying process.
JORGE ET AL.
The b-carotene content of the blanched samples in Group B also
showed increased concentrations after drying, thus, also indicating their
greater stability in response to the treatments that involved high tem-
peratures (oven drying and hot air flow). However, oven drying caused
degradation of b-carotene, since the exposure to heat was longer than
in the heated air flow system. The increase in b-carotene in tomato
powder dehydrated by heated air flow was higher than in the freeze-
dried powders. According to Anguelova and Warthesen (2000), Bravo
et al. (2013), and Demiray et al. (2013), b-carotene is more stable than
lycopene, thus implying only minor changes in terms of degradation
increased extraction. The increasing drying temperature from 70 8C to
80 8C increased the reaction rate of lycopene degradation in tomatoes
by about 2.4 times (Demiray et al., 2013), and rearrangement of its
chemical structure. Anguelova and Warthesen (2000) found that 60%
of lycopene was degraded during the storage for 6 weeks at 45 8C.
4 | CONCLUSIONS
The results of these experiments indicate that the effect of drying is
loss of quality of the end product, especially in processes involving
heat.
Based on the results of these experiments, it can be stated that
blanching was beneficial in preventing the loss of quality in terms of
the characteristics of fractions of carotenes, preserving the stability in
the end product, as well as its nutritional aspects, although steam
blanching also promoted the loss of carotenes during the subsequent
drying process. The concentration of ascorbic acid was slightly reduced
by steam blanching, since it is a hydrophilic component. However, the
freezer drying increased the ascorbic acid content due to the absence
of heat during drying.
Steam blanching before the drying processes promoted some
increase in HMF formation in products obtained by heating processes.
The HMF formation corresponds to interactions that promotes sugar
losses in the dehydrated product. This aspect can be considered as a
disadvantage, since the presence of HMF may cause color and aroma
changes, especially during storage.
In view of these findings, the process that showed the best per-
formance in obtaining dried tomato powder was found to be the one
that involved previously blanched samples, followed by drying in the
heated air flow system. This drying method showed advantages in
terms of process time, and higher concentrations of lycopene,
b-carotene, and total phenolics.
AC KNOW LE DGME NT S
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of CNPq
(Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Develop-
ment), through Grant nos. 304675/2016-4 and 305970/2015-1.
OR CID
Aline Jorge http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4569-0845
Evaldo Toniolo Kubaski http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5238-8305
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How to cite this article: Jorge A, Sauer Leal E, Sequinel R,
Sequinel T, Kubaski ET, Tebcherani SM. Changes in the compo-
sition of tomato powder (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) resulting
from different drying methods. J Food Process Preserv. 2018;
e13595. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.13595