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AbstractThe Zingiberaceae family encompasses a diverse range of species, including Alpinia oxyphylla Miq, Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire, and Amomum villosum Lour. Among them, Amomum villosum Lour (AVL) is particularly significant due to its high economic and medicinal value in China. The drying method employed during the initial processing of fresh AVL plays a pivotal role in determining product quality. However, the shell expansion and subsequent breakage during the drying process adversely affect the final quality. To address these issues, this study introduced a three-stage drying (TD) method, examining the effects of the tempering intervals on drying characteristics, physicochemical properties, and volatile organic components of AVL. The results revealed that interval tempering not only reduced the total heat treatment time but also significantly improved drying efficiency. Compared to hot air drying (HD), AVL subjected to three-stage drying exhibited a denser fruit structure, leading to enhanced storage stability and a higher concentration of volatile components, notably alkenes (54%) and camphor (15.43%). These findings underscore the potential of interval tempering as a cost-effective and efficient strategy for drying fresh Chinese traditional medicinal plants, offering a promising alternative to conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of different pretreatments on drying behavior and quality of taro slices during intermittent microwave vacuum-assisted drying were investigated. Taro slices were subjected to the following pretreatments: blanching (B), blanching and freezing (B + F), blanching and immersion in maltodextrin solution (B + M), and blanching and immersion in maltodextrin solution and freezing (B + M + F). The reduction in amylose content, the increase in amylose to amylopectin ratio, the change of mechanical properties, the increase in sample bulk density and reduction in sample porosity and structure collapse during pretreatment processes facilitated heat and moisture transfer and quality changes during drying of taro slices. During drying process, all the pretreatment reduced the drying time of samples. The drying rate included a warming-up period and a falling rate period. The values of effective moisture diffusivity increased gradually as the moisture content decreased. The B + M + F pretreatment had the shortest drying time, the highest drying rate and the biggest effective moisture diffusivity. Moreover, for B + M + F pretreatment, the parameters including hardness, crispness, color, and microstructure had remarkable changes as compared with the other pretreatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]