The Effect of Osmotic Dehydration Conditions on the Potassium Content in Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.)

Osmotic dehydration as a process of removing water from food by immersing the raw material in a hypertonic solution is used primarily to extend the shelf life of products and as a pretreatment before further processing steps, such as drying and freezing. However, due to the bi-directional mass transfer that occurs during osmotic dehydration, the process can also be used to shape sensory properties and enrich the plant matrix with nutrients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic dehydration on the absorption of potassium by beet pulp immersed in various hypertonic solutions (sucrose, inulin, erythritol, xylitol solutions) with the addition of three chemical forms of potassium (gluconate, citrate, chloride) using variable process conditions. The study proved that osmotic dehydration is an effective way to enrich food. The highest potassium content (5779.03 mg/100 g) was found in a sample osmotically dehydrated in a 50% erythritol solution with 5.0% potassium chloride addition with a process that lasted 180 min and took place at 30 °C. The results obtained indicate the high potential of osmotic dehydration in improving the health values of food products. In addition, the antioxidant activity and proximate composition of osmotically dehydrated samples were also characterized in this study.