2026/07/01 by Ozlem Kilic‐Buyukkurt, Özlem Kılıç Büyükkurt, Nuray İnan‐Çınkır +1
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Medicine · #Food Drying and Modeling #Phytochemistry and biological activity of medicinal plants #Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
paper · doi:10.1111/jfpe.70699
ABSTRACT The convergence of changing dietary habits and growing health concerns contributes to the development of alternative, health‐oriented, and nutrient‐dense products from plant‐derived resources. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different drying techniques (shade, hot‐air, and microwave) combined with extractions (conventional and ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE)) on the bioactive, physicochemical properties, and antimicrobial activity of Asphodelus aestivus leaves. The microwave drying significantly decreased drying time (12 min). While the highest total phenolic content (9.58 mg GAE/g) and antioxidant activities (DPPH inhibition of 25.59% and ABTS activity of 65.26 μmol Trolox/g) were determined in the microwave‐dried sample subjected to UAE. In contrast, hot‐air‐dried samples exhibited the highest total chlorophyll content under both extraction procedures. Hot‐air‐dried samples also showed higher color values than the other samples. In addition, hot‐air‐dried samples subjected to UAE demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli NCTC 12241 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 13565. SEM and FTIR analyses revealed changes in morphological characteristics and similar functional groups among the samples, respectively. Glass transition temperature (T g ) values ranged from 57.79°C to 60.59°C across all dried samples. Overall, the results suggest that microwave drying combined with UAE is more effective for preserving bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity, whereas hot‐air drying combined with UAE is more suitable for improving color, antimicrobial activity, and physicochemical quality in A. aestivus leaves.