Studies on supercritical fluid extraction and spray drying effect on the quality of instant tea of Mulberry leaves (Morus alba L.)

• Published in: Measurement. Food 2022-09, Vol.7, p.100052, Article 100052
• Main Authors: Sarkhel, Shubhajit, Manvi, Dronachari, Ramachandra, C T, Manjunath, M, Nidoni, Uday Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: air; air temperature; blood glucose; Blood pressure; cholesterol; Encapsulation; energy; fluidized beds; heart diseases; Hyperglycemia; inflammation; measurement; Morus alba; mulberries; Powder characteristics; Response surface methodology; silkworms; solubility; supercritical fluid extraction; tea; value added; water content
• ISSN: 2772-2759; 2772-2759
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meafoo.2022.100052

•Supercritical fluid extraction and spray drying was found to be an excellent approach towards the development of instant mulberry tea.•The developed instant mulberry tea powder under optimized conditions have excellent handling, flow and health beneficial characteristics.•Incorporation of lemon, cardamom and tulsi blend flavor extract into the mulberry tea extract helped to improve appearance, taste, aroma, flavor and overall acceptability of the instant mulberry tea. Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is a Moraceae family plant that is often used for silkworm feeding. The value-added forms of mulberry leaves (Morus alba) significantly help to reduce blood sugar, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation levels, cholesterol and fight against heart disease. A process technology comprising supercritical fluid extraction (200 bar and 50 ºC), optimizing spray drying (inlet air temperature of 147 ºC and feed flow rate of 3 mL/min) and fluidized bed drying (45 ºC) was developed for production of instant tea from mulberry leaves. Physical, biochemical and reconstitution properties of the developed instant powder were determined. The powder had excellent handling and flow characteristics at low inlet air temperatures (130 °C). The increase in input air temperature resulted in a considerable improvement in reconstitution characteristics. The developed instant mulberry tea powder under optimized conditions showed Hausner ratio of 1.09, Carr's index of 9.35%, solubility of 97.51%, moisture content of 2.29%, protein of 1.32%, fat of 0.45% and energy of 403.94 kcal/100 g. The prepared instant mulberry tea had more acceptability in terms of sensory qualities compared to commercial mulberry tea.