Effect of Blanching and Drying Treatments on Quality of Broccoli Leaves Powder and Its Potential as Food Ingredient

The Brassica oleraccea L. Italica are often considered as wastes, but they are actually beneficial for health. The study is aimed to explore the effect of blanching and different drying methods and it’s potential as halal food ingredient on the physicochemical properties of Brassica oleraccea L. Italica leaves powder. The leaves were blanched in hot water before they went through the drying process, which consisted of sun drying, oven drying, cabinet drying and vacuum drying. The results showed that blanching helps in improving the powder physical properties and preserving the phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Blanching also minimized the chlorophyll pigments deterioration in all drying methods while it it does not help in retaining the antioxidant activity of the products. During storage of two months period, there were been observed significantly decrease (p≤0.05) in pH, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, total flavonoid, total chlorophyll and colour values in all the samples if dried broccoli dried by different drying techniques but there was significant (p≤0.05) increase in moisture content. The vacuum drying method was found best to retain physicochemical, phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity during 2 months of storage followed by cabinet drying, oven drying and sun drying. Antimicrobial test has been done for vacuum dried sample shows the sample was inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeroginosa bacteria effectively. Besides, in this study the broccoli leaves cordial sample has undergo the halal authentication test and has showed that there was no alcohol detected in the sample.