Water and phytochemicals dynamic during drying of red habanero chili pepper (Capsicum chinense) slices

Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) is a source of phytochemicals or bioactive compounds that have shown benefits in human health. For phytochemicals extraction process, a prior drying is required. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of drying temperature (30, 50 and 70 °C) on total capsaicinoids and total carotenoids, and the coefficients of water diffusivity during drying of sliced red habanero pepper. The results show that the bioactive compounds, present a major stability at high temperature (70 °C), the effective diffusivity increased with drying temperature and the activation energy of the process was calculated to 39.575 kJ mol^-1 K^-1. Several theoretical aspects of average water diffusivity are discussed.

Keywords: Capsaicin, Capsicum chinense, carotenoids, convective drying, effective diffusivity, phytochemicals.