The physicochemical properties of spray-dried watermelon powders

A study was conducted using Büchi mini spray dryer B-191 to produce spray-dried watermelon powders using two different maltodextrin concentrations (3% and 5%) as the encapsulating agent and four different inlet temperatures (145 °C, 155 °C, 165 °C and 175 °C). The spray-dried watermelon powders were analysed for moisture content, dissolution, water activity, colour, lycopene and β-carotene. Results demonstrated that as inlet temperature increased, the moisture content and dissolution decreased. However, there were no significant changes in the water activities of the spray-dried powders for all the inlet temperatures investigated. Colormetric analyses showed that the L*, a*, b*, hue and chroma values changed with the inlet temperatures. The results were well correlated to the lycopene and β-carotene contents of the spray-dried powders.