Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas
Green peas, with their high moisture content, require effective drying techniques to extend shelf life while preserving quality. Traditional drying methods face challenges due to the dense structure of the seed coat and wax layer, which limits moisture migration. This study investigates cold plasma...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/84 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841549225641377792 |
|---|---|
| author | Jun-Wen Bai Dan-Dan Li Reziwanguli Abulaiti Manqian Wang Xiaozhi Wu Zhenwei Feng Yutong Zhu Jianrong Cai |
| author_facet | Jun-Wen Bai Dan-Dan Li Reziwanguli Abulaiti Manqian Wang Xiaozhi Wu Zhenwei Feng Yutong Zhu Jianrong Cai |
| author_sort | Jun-Wen Bai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Green peas, with their high moisture content, require effective drying techniques to extend shelf life while preserving quality. Traditional drying methods face challenges due to the dense structure of the seed coat and wax layer, which limits moisture migration. This study investigates cold plasma (CP) pretreatment as a novel approach to enhance drying kinetics and maintain the quality attributes of green peas. The results showed that CP treatment significantly improves drying efficiency by modifying the pea epidermis microstructure, reducing drying time by up to 18.18%. The moisture effective diffusivity coefficients (<i>D<sub>eff</sub></i>) for untreated and CP-pretreated green peas were calculated to range from 5.9629 to 9.9172 × 10<sup>−10</sup> m<sup>2</sup>·s<sup>−1</sup>, with CP pretreatment increasing <i>D<sub>eff</sub></i> by up to 66.31% compared to the untreated group. Optimal CP parameters (90 s, 750 Hz frequency, 70% duty cycle) were found to improve the rehydration ratio, preserve color, and increase total phenolic content (TPC) by 24.06%, while enhancing antioxidant activity by 29.64%. Microstructural changes, including pore formation and increased surface roughness, as observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), partially explain the enhanced moisture diffusion, improved rehydration, and alterations in nutrient content. These findings underscore the potential of CP technology as a non-thermal, eco-friendly pretreatment for drying agricultural products, with broad applications in food preservation and quality enhancement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9114c5a3fcb449381e6ac3914535b98 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9114c5a3fcb449381e6ac3914535b982025-01-10T13:17:44ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-01-011418410.3390/foods14010084Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green PeasJun-Wen Bai0Dan-Dan Li1Reziwanguli Abulaiti2Manqian Wang3Xiaozhi Wu4Zhenwei Feng5Yutong Zhu6Jianrong Cai7School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaGreen peas, with their high moisture content, require effective drying techniques to extend shelf life while preserving quality. Traditional drying methods face challenges due to the dense structure of the seed coat and wax layer, which limits moisture migration. This study investigates cold plasma (CP) pretreatment as a novel approach to enhance drying kinetics and maintain the quality attributes of green peas. The results showed that CP treatment significantly improves drying efficiency by modifying the pea epidermis microstructure, reducing drying time by up to 18.18%. The moisture effective diffusivity coefficients (<i>D<sub>eff</sub></i>) for untreated and CP-pretreated green peas were calculated to range from 5.9629 to 9.9172 × 10<sup>−10</sup> m<sup>2</sup>·s<sup>−1</sup>, with CP pretreatment increasing <i>D<sub>eff</sub></i> by up to 66.31% compared to the untreated group. Optimal CP parameters (90 s, 750 Hz frequency, 70% duty cycle) were found to improve the rehydration ratio, preserve color, and increase total phenolic content (TPC) by 24.06%, while enhancing antioxidant activity by 29.64%. Microstructural changes, including pore formation and increased surface roughness, as observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), partially explain the enhanced moisture diffusion, improved rehydration, and alterations in nutrient content. These findings underscore the potential of CP technology as a non-thermal, eco-friendly pretreatment for drying agricultural products, with broad applications in food preservation and quality enhancement.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/84green peascold plasmadrying kineticsmicrostructurequality |
| spellingShingle | Jun-Wen Bai Dan-Dan Li Reziwanguli Abulaiti Manqian Wang Xiaozhi Wu Zhenwei Feng Yutong Zhu Jianrong Cai Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas Foods green peas cold plasma drying kinetics microstructure quality |
| title | Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas |
| title_full | Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas |
| title_fullStr | Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas |
| title_short | Cold Plasma as a Novel Pretreatment to Improve the Drying Kinetics and Quality of Green Peas |
| title_sort | cold plasma as a novel pretreatment to improve the drying kinetics and quality of green peas |
| topic | green peas cold plasma drying kinetics microstructure quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/84 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT junwenbai coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT dandanli coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT reziwanguliabulaiti coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT manqianwang coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT xiaozhiwu coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT zhenweifeng coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT yutongzhu coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas AT jianrongcai coldplasmaasanovelpretreatmenttoimprovethedryingkineticsandqualityofgreenpeas |