Effect of Infra-red Drying on the Stability of Physicochemical Properties, Phenolics, Flavonoids and on Antioxidant Activity of Allium sativum

In this work, the effect of infrared drying temperatures on the physicochemical properties and antioxidant capacity of Allium sativum was investigated. The following parameters were analyzed: proximal composition, mineral content, total phenolics content, and total flavonoids content. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by means of DPPH, ABTS and and β-carotene assays. Results have shown that a significant alteration in the physicochemical properties was produced at high drying temperatures. However, both total phenolic content and flavonoid content decreased as drying temperature decrease. Thermal processing seems to preserve antioxidant activity at higher temperature.