Comparative evaluation of physicochemical profile and bioactive properties of red edible seaweed Chondrus crispus subjected to different drying methods
Dehydration of the edible seaweed Chondrus crispus was performed by freeze-drying, conventional oven-drying and emerging microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG). In this work, the drying kinetics and modelling, estimating specific energy consumption and environmental impact of distinct processes were tested. Color and microstructural features of the dried macroalgae were also evaluated, as well as their nutritive characterization, chemical profile and bioactive potential (antioxidant and antimicrobial activities). Moreover, collected liquid phases from both the defrosted and MHG treated samples were also characterized. All methodologies provided solid phases with an adequate final moisture content. MHG significantly reduced the needed time, specific energy consumption and environmental impact, providing C. crispus with intermediate color and histological structure characteristics. Overall, this trend was also defined to tested chemical parameters and bioactivities. MHG provided aqueous extracts with potential bioactive compounds from this red alga, increasing the efficiency of this drying method. ; L.L.H., M.D.T. and H.D. thank the financial support to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain (RTI2018-096376-B-I00), and to the Xunta de Galicia (Centro singular de investigaci´on de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund - ERDF) - (Ref. ED431G2019/06). L.L.H. was recipient of mobility grant from the IACOBUS Program, for cultural, scientific and pedagogical cooperation between Universities and Higher Education Institutions in the Euroregion Galicia - North of Portugal (edition 2019-2020). M.D.T. acknowledges to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain for her postdoctoral grants (RYC2018- 024454-I). The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/ MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT, P.I., through ...