ARTICLE IN PRESS

Biosystems Engineering (2004) 89 (2), 167–173

doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2004.07.008
PH—Postharvest Technology

Microwave Drying Characteristics of Parsley

Y. Soysal
Department of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mustafa Kemal, Tayfur Sokmen Campus,
31040 Antakya-Hatay, Turkey; e-mail of corresponding author: ysoysal@mku.edu.tr

(Received 5 September 2003; accepted in revised form 22 July 2004; published online 25 October 2004)

Parsley (Petroslinum crispum Mill.) leaves were dried in a domestic microwave oven to determine the effects of
microwave output power on drying time, drying rate and the dried product quality in terms of colour. Seven
different microwave output powers ranging from 360 to 900 W were used in the drying experiments. Drying
took place mainly in constant rate and falling rate periods. After a short heating period a relatively long
constant rate period was observed. Approximately 40
5% of the water was removed in this period. The rapidly
decreasing falling rate period followed the constant rate period. As the drying progressed, the loss of moisture
in the product caused a decrease in the absorption of microwave power and resulted in a fall in the drying rate.
Increasing the microwave output power resulted in a considerable decrease in drying time (probability
Po0
01). The semi-empirical Page’s equation used to describe the drying kinetics of dried leaf materials gave
an excellent fit for all data points with values for the coefficient of determination R2 of greater than 0
997 and
for the standard error of estimates (SEE) of lower than 0
0188. The value of the drying constant increased with
increased microwave output power. No significant differences were observed between the colour parameters of
fresh and microwave-dried leaf materials, except for some decrease in whiteness L value (P40
05). The change
in colour values was not dependent on the microwave output power. Although some darkening occurred,
microwave drying maintained a good green colour close to that of the original fresh parsley leaves. By working
at 900 W instead of 360 W, the drying time could be reduced by 64% with a good quality product.
r 2004 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved
Published by Elsevier Ltd

1. Introduction It is used as a carminative, diuretic, hypertensive,

hypotensive, stomachic, nervine, emmenagogic, aborti-
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) is a widely used facient and nutritive agent (Robbers & Tyler, 1999;
culinary, medicinal and aromatic plant. The fresh or Kreydiyyeh & Usta, 2002).
dried leaves, roots and seeds of this plant are used in the Parsley contains a high level of moisture and
food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries to pro- microorganisms. Due to the high initial moisture
duce spice, essential oils and drugs. In food preparation, content of 83
15 (70
976) % wb (or 4
9370
34 db),
the fresh parsley leaves are also used as a garnish and for 813
95 kg water have to be evaporated per 1000 kg of
seasoning. The dried leaves known as parsley flakes are fresh parsley leaves to attain the final moisture content
particularly used in the instant food sector as an of 9% wb (or 0
10 db). Parsley like many other herbs is
ingredient to flavour soups and sausages. Both seeds highly seasonal in nature. In order to preserve this
and leaves are used to produce an essential oil for use in seasonal and highly perishable plant and make it
perfumes, soaps, crèmes and seasonings. It is a very rich available to consumers all year round at low prices, it
source of vitamins C and E, b-carotene, thiamin, is subjected to postharvest technological treatments such
riboflavin and organic minerals (Bakowski & Michalik, as drying and freezing.
1986; Wills et al., 1986; Michalik & Dobrzański, 1987; Drying is one of the oldest preservation techniques.
Athar et al., 1999). Natural drying (drying in the shade) and hot air drying

1537-5110/$30.00 167 r 2004 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved

Published by Elsevier Ltd
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
168 Y. SOYSAL

Notation

a colour redness (+)/greenness () coordinate, R2 coefficient of determination, decimal

dimensionless t drying time, min
b colour yellowness (+)/blueness () coordi- X moisture content (db), kg [water] kg1 [dry
nate, dimensionless matter]
C chroma, dimensionless X0 initial moisture content(db), kg [water] kg1
k drying constant, min1 [dry matter]
L colour brightness coordinate, dimensionless Xe equilibrium moisture content (db), kg
MR moisture ratio, decimal [water] kg1 [dry matter]
n exponent, dimensionless a hue angle, 1

are still most widely used methods to produce dried ing; osmotic pretreatment before combined
parsley flakes, because of their lower cost. Natural microwave–hot air drying) can greatly reduce the drying
drying has many disadvantages due to the inability to time of biological materials without quality degradation
handle the large quantities and to achieve consistent (Ren & Chen, 1998; Funebo & Ohlsson, 1998; Moreno
quality standards (Soysal & Öztekin, 2001). Continuous et al., 2000; Maskan, 2000; Torringa et al., 2001; Nindo
and batch dryers are generally used depending on the et al., 2003).
daily processed product tonnage. Some industrial There has been extensive research into microwave
sectors, such as instant food and dried soup producers drying techniques, examining a broad spectrum of fruits
are interested only in colour, not flavour (Axtell & Bush, and vegetables including: potato (Bouraout et al., 1994),
1991). Dried parsley should have a bright green colour; grapes (Tulasidas et al., 1997), apple (Funebo & Ohlsson,
hence it should be dried quickly in order to inactivate 1998), mushroom (Torringa et al., 2001), carrot (Litvin et
the enzyme chlorophyllase which breaks down chlor- al., 1998), banana (Maskan, 2000), chilli (Kaensup et al.,
ophyll turning the leaf yellow (Fraser & Whish, 1997). 2002), garlic (Sharma & Prasad, 2001), asparagus (Nindo
Thus, to produce green parsley flakes, drying tempera- et al., 2003). However, little data currently exist on
tures in excess of 80 1C are generally used (Axtell & microwave drying of leafy herbs. The introduction of a
Bush, 1991). Nevertheless, temperatures exceeding 60 1C microwave drying/heating technique which reduces dry-
can cause a significant loss of the leaf volatile oil (Deans ing time considerably and produces a high-quality end-
et al., 1991). In addition to this, other major drawbacks product could offer a promising alternative and signifi-
of hot air drying are low-energy efficiency and a lengthy cant contribution to the herb processing industry.
drying time during the last stage of drying. For example, Therefore, the overall objective of this study was to
Parker (1999) carried out the drying experiments for improve the basic knowledge about important para-
sweet basil, pesto basil, marjoram, lemongrass and meters in the microwave drying of leafy herbs and to
parsley in a hot air dryer with a capacity of 500 g fresh determine whether microwave drying could reduce the
leaf materials. It is reported that the hot air drying drying time and improve the product quality in terms of
process which reduced the parsley leaves moisture colour. Specific objectives were to:
contents from 80
3% (wb) to moisture content below (a) evaluate the influence of microwave output power
10% (wb) took 18, 15, 6 and 5 h for 30, 40, 50 and 65 1C on drying kinetics and colour of parsley leaves; and
drying air temperatures, respectively (Parker, 1999). The (b) describe the drying process by producing a thin
result is a poor product quality in terms of leaf colour, layer drying model for the purpose of simulation and
essential oil yield and the composition. It is also scaling up of the process.
reported that the drying air temperatures of 30, 50 and
65 1C have deleterious effect upon leaf colour of parsley,
while 40 1C drying air temperature have no effect on leaf 2. Materials and methods
colour. Therefore, regarding that colour is of primary
importance in dried herbs, drying temperature of 40 1C 2.1. Material
was suggested as the most ideal for parsley drying
(Parker, 1999). Fresh green parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) leaves
Compared to hot air drying, microwave or hybrid used for the drying experiments were obtained from
microwave drying techniques (microwave–hot air dry- farmers’ fields in the Hatay region of Turkey. The whole
ing; microwave–freeze drying, microwave–vacuum dry- samples were stored at 470
5 1C before they were used in
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
MICROWAVE DRYING OF PARSLEY 169

experiments. Prior to each of drying experiments, the (Minolta Co., Osaka, Japan). The colour meter was
whole material samples were taken out of storage and calibrated against a standard calibration plate of a white
leaves from stems were separated. The moisture content surface and set to CIE Standard Illuminant C. The
of each tested sample was measured individually. Four display was set to CIE L a b colour coordinates. Ten
50 g leaf samples were dried in an oven at 105 1C for 24 h random readings per sample were recorded and the
to assess their initial moisture contents. The initial average values of colour parameters with standard
moisture content (m.c.) of the parsley leaves was deviation values were reported. The colour brightness
determined as 4
9370
34 dry basis (db). coordinate L measures the whiteness value of a colour
and ranges from black at 0 to white at 100. The
chromaticity coordinate a measures red when positive
2.2. Drying equipment and procedure and green when negative, and the chromaticity coordi-
nate b measures yellow when positive and blue when
A programmable domestic microwave oven (Galanz negative. Also, the chroma C [Eqn (2)] and hue angle
WP900AL23-Z1, China) with maximum output of a [Eqn (3)] were calculated from the values for L a b
900 W at 2450 MHz was used for the drying experi- and used to describe the colour change during
ments. The dimensions of the microwave cavity were drying:
215 mm by 350 mm by 330 mm. The oven was fitted with qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a glass turntable (314 mm diameter) and had a digital C ¼ ða2 þ b2 Þ (2)
control facility to adjust the microwave output power by
the 10% decrements and the time of processing.
Seven different microwave output powers (360, 450, a ¼ tan1 ðb=aÞ (3)
540, 630, 720, 810 and 900 W) were investigated in
drying experiments at constant sample loading density.
In each of drying experiments, 25(70
21) g of leaf 2.4. Data analysis
materials were uniformly spread on the turntable inside
the microwave cavity, for an even absorption of A multiple comparison test was conducted using the
microwave energy. For the mass determination, a digital Sigma-Stat (SPSS Inc., version 3
0) to establish the
balance of 0
01 g accuracy (Sartorius GP3202, Ger- actual differing applications. Non-linear regression
many) was used. Three replications of each experiment analysis was performed using Sigma-Plot (SPSS Inc.,
were performed according to a preset microwave output version 8
03) to estimate the parameters k and n of semi-
power and time schedule. Moisture loss was recorded by empirical Page’s equation [Eqn (1)]. Regression results
removing the turntable from the microwave, and placing include the coefficients for the equation, standard error
this, along with the leaf sample on the digital balance of estimate (SEE) and coefficient of determination R2.
periodically (Maskan, 2000). The microwave power was
applied until the weight of the sample reduced to a level
corresponding to a moisture content of about 0
10 db. 3. Results and discussion
The following common semi-empirical Page’s equa-
tion [Eqn (1)] was used to describe the thin layer drying 3.1. Drying curves
kinetics of parsley leaves (Ren & Chen, 1998; Sharma &
Prasad, 2001 ). The moisture content versus time curves for micro-
X  Xe wave drying of parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.)
MR ¼ ¼ expðktn Þ (1)
X0  Xe leaves as influenced by microwave output power are
where: MR is the moisture ratio; X is the moisture content shown in Fig. 1. The microwave drying process which
db; Xe is the equilibrium moisture content db; X0 is the reduced the parsley leaves moisture contents from
initial moisture content db; t is the time in min; k is the 4
93 db to moisture content of 0
10 db took
drying constant in min1; and n is the dimensionless 3
50–9
75 min, depending on the applied microwave
exponent. The equilibrium moisture content was assumed output power. As the microwave output power was
to be zero for microwave drying (Maskan, 2000). increased, the drying time of leaves was significantly
reduced (Po0
01). Similar findings were reported by
several authors (Al-Duri & McIntyre, 1992; Prabhanjan
2.3. Colour measurement et al., 1995; Drouzas & Schubert, 1996; Funebo &
Ohlsson, 1998). By working at 900 W instead of 360 W,
Sample colour was measured before and after drying the drying time up to the moisture content of 0
10 db
by using a Minolta Chroma CR-100 colour meter could be shortened by 64%. Since the initial moisture
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
170 Y. SOYSAL

5 2.5

kg [H2O] kg−1 [DM] min−1

kg [water] / kg [dry matter]
Moisture content (db),

4 2.0

Drying rate,
3 1.5

2 1.0

1 0.5

0.0
0 0 1 2 3 4 5
0 2 4 6 8 10
Drying time, min Moisture content, decimal db

Fig. 1. Drying curves for parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) Fig. 2. Drying rate curves for parsley (Petroselinum crispum
leaves under various microwave output powers;  , 900 W; m, Mill.) leaves under various microwave output powers;  ,
810 W; , 720 W; ’, 630 W; &, 540 W; n, 450 W; J, 360 W 900 W; m, 810 W; , 720 W; ’, 630 W; &, 540 W; n, 450 W;
J, 360 W; DM, dry matter

contents of the parsley leaves used in drying experiments all of the drying of biological products takes place in the
were relatively constant (4
9370
34 db), the difference falling rate period. However, opposite findings and
in drying time requirements was considered to be mainly suggestions were also reported in some studies. For
due to the difference in the drying rate. On the other example, both constant and falling rate periods were
hand, compared to hot air drying reported by Parker reported by Mowlah et al. (1983) in the drying of
(1999), microwave drying technique used in this study banana at 60 1C in an air-circulated oven. Another
can greatly reduce the drying time of parsley leaves. By conclusion made by Maskan (2000) states that a short
performing microwave drying at 900 W microwave constant rate period during the drying of high moisture
output power instead of 30, 40, 50 and 65 1C hot air content products could be observed by using lower
dying, the drying time up to the moisture content of drying temperatures such as 40–50 1C. Although the
0
10 db can be shortened by 111, 92, 37 and 31 fold, length of the constant rate period for the leaf material
respectively. dried at various microwave output power differed
The drying rate was calculated as the quantity of between samples, the constant rate drying period was
moisture removed per unit time per unit dry of matter from about 4
0 to about 2
0 db m.c. Approximately
(DM) (kg [H2O] kg1[DM]min1). The drying rate 40
5% of the water was removed in this period. The
curves for parsley leaves dried at different microwave rapidly decreasing falling rate period followed the
output powers are given in Fig. 2. Depending on constant rate period and started below the 2
0 db m.c.
the drying conditions, average drying rates of pars- No sharp differences between the first and second falling
ley leaves ranged from 0
48 to 1
33 kg [H2O] rate periods were observed except for the drying rate
kg1[DM]min1 for the output power between 360 curve of leaf material dried at 630 W microwave output
and 900 W, respectively. power.
The moisture content of the material was very
high during the initial phase of the drying which re- 3.2. Modelling drying data
sulted in a higher absorption of microwave power
and higher drying rates due to the higher moisture The drying data were used to describe microwave
diffusion. As the drying progressed, the loss of moisture drying kinetics of parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.)
in the product caused a decrease in the absorption leaves. The parameters k and n of semi-empirical Page’s
of microwave power and resulted in a fall in the equation [Eqn (1)] for a given drying condition were
drying rate. Higher drying rates were obtained at estimated using non-linear regression technique (Table
higher microwave output powers. Thus, the microwave 1) and the fitness is illustrated in Fig. 3. The model gave
output power had a crucial effect on the drying rate. an excellent fit for all the experimental data points with
Similar findings were reported in previous studies values for the coefficient of determination of greater
(Funebo & Ohlsson, 1998; Sharma & Prasad, 2001; than 0
997 and the standard error of estimates lower
Maskan, 2000). than 0
0188. It is determined that the value of the drying
After a short heating period, a relatively long constant constant k increased with the increase in microwave
rate period was observed when drying the leaf materials output power. This signifies that with increase in
(Fig. 2). These results were not in agreement with the microwave output power drying curve becomes steeper
study by Madamba et al. (1996) who claims that almost indicating faster drying of the product. These results
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
MICROWAVE DRYING OF PARSLEY 171

Table 1
Non-linear regression analysis results of semi-empirical Page’s equation [Eqn (1)] for microwave drying of parsley (Petroselinum
crispum Mill.) leaves under various microwave output power; SEE, standard error of estimate; R2, coefficients of determination

Microwave output power, W Drying rate constant (k), min1 Exponent (n) SEEð Þ R2

900 0
6132 1
5392 0
0171 0
998

810 0
6125 1
5381 0
0161 0
998
720 0
4948 1
5340 0
0150 0
998
630 0
4125 1
5147 0
0144 0
998
540 0
3227 1
5167 0
0188 0
997
450 0
2532 1
5629 0
0165 0
998
360 0
1561 1
4996 0
0160 0
998

1.0 values was not dependent on the microwave output

0.9 power. These results were in good agreement with the
0.8 findings of Maskan (2000).
0.7
Moisture ratio

It is clear that, although the microwave drying

0.6 resulted in some darkening of the leaf colour, compared
0.5 to the fresh parsley leaves, a good green colour was
0.4
maintained.
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0 4. Conclusion
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Drying time, min Results showed that, in the main, drying took place in
Fig. 3. Moisture ratio versus time, comparing experimental the constant rate period and falling rate period. After a
curve with the predicted one () through semi-empirical Page’s short heating period a relatively long constant rate
equation [Eqn (1)] for parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) period ranging from about 4
0 to about 2
0 db m.c. was
leaves under various microwave output powers;  , 900 W; m, observed. Approximately 40
5% of the water was
810 W; , 720 W; ’, 630 W; &, 540 W; n, 450 W; J, 360 W
removed in this period. The rapidly decreasing falling
rate period followed the constant rate period. As the
drying progressed, the loss of moisture in the product
were in good agreement with the drying rate data which caused a decrease in the absorption of microwave power
follow the same trends. and resulted in a fall in the drying rate. Average drying
rates of parsley leaves ranged from 0
48 to 1
33 kg
[H2O] kg1[DM]min1 for the output power between
3.3. Colour assessment 360 and 900 W, respectively.
Drying time decreased considerably with increased
The colour of the dried product is a crucial quality microwave output power. Therefore microwave output
indicator to the acceptance of the final product in the power had a crucial effect on the drying rate. Compared
market. Dried parsley leaves should have a bright green to the hot air drying published elsewhere, microwave
colour of the fresh leaves. Table 2 shows the results of drying technique used in this study can greatly reduce
the colour measurements of fresh and dried parsley the drying time of parsley leaves. By performing
leaves. The brightness value L of the fresh parsley leaves microwave drying at 900 W microwave output power
differed significantly from the values of dried leaves instead of 30, 40, 50 and 65 1C hot air dying, the drying
(Po0
01). However, the value for greenness (a), time up to the moisture content of 0
10 db can be
yellowness b, chroma C and hue angle a of microwave shortened by 111, 92, 37 and 31 fold, respectively. The
dried leaves were not significantly different from the semi-empirical Page’s equation used to describe the
values of the fresh leaves (P40
05). On the other hand, drying kinetics of parsley leaves gave an excellent fit for
the multiple comparison test showed that the colour all the data points with higher coefficient of determina-
values (L, a, b, C and a) of microwave dried samples tions and lower standard error of estimates. The value of
were not significantly different from each other the drying constant increased with the increased
(P40
05). This indicated that the change in colour microwave output power signifying that with increase
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
172 Y. SOYSAL

Table 2
Effect of microwave output power on the colour of parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) leaves; L, brightness of a colour; a, greenness
of a colour when negative; b, yellowness of a colour when positive; C, chroma of a colour; a, hue angle of a colour in 1

Microwave output power, W Colour parameters

L a b C a, 1

Fresh 41
42 (2
29)* 15
67 (1
45) 21
40 (3
51) 26
55 (3
61) 126
46 (2
51)
900 36
65 (1
45) 14
70 (0
89) 20
61 (1
19) 25
31 (1
47) 125
49 (0
52)
810 36
75 (1
45) 14
64 (0
80) 20
76 (1
31) 25
41 (1
46) 125
21 (1
04)
720 36
74 (1
18) 14
72 (0
52) 20
77 (0
65) 25
45 (0
81) 125
32 (0
43)
630 37
04 (1
72) 14
50 (0
55) 20
46 (0
54) 25
08 (0
72) 125
32 (0
64)
540 37
23 (0
92) 14
48 (0
49) 20
32 (0
66) 24
95 (0
80) 125
48 (0
43)
450 37
34 (1
24) 14
54 (0
39) 20
64 (0
55) 25
25 (0
63) 125
16 (0
52)
360 37
50 (1
36) 14
78 (0
40) 20
99 (0
49) 25
67 (0
56) 125
15 (0
64)
*
Values in parenthesis indicate the standard deviation.

in microwave output power, drying curve becomes Deans S G; Svoboda K P; Bartlett M C (1991). Effect of
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