Comparative effects of conventional and modern drying methods on drying time, energy consumption, and physicochemical properties of lavender (Lavandula stricta Del.)

Mohammad Kaveh; Shahin Zomorodi; Malgorzata Nowacka; Faroogh Sharifian; Behnam Gheysari; Kamal Imanian; Mohammad Kaveh; Shahin Zomorodi; Malgorzata Nowacka; Faroogh Sharifian; Behnam Gheysari; Kamal Imanian

doi:10.3934/molsci.2025014

AIMS Molecular Science

2025, Volume 12, Issue 3: 216-233. doi: 10.3934/molsci.2025014

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Research article

Comparative effects of conventional and modern drying methods on drying time, energy consumption, and physicochemical properties of lavender (Lavandula stricta Del.)

1.
Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil 44001, Iraq
2.
Agricultural Engineering Research Department, West Azerbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Urmia, Iran
3.
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
4.
Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
5.
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Received: 24 March 2025 Revised: 21 June 2025 Accepted: 15 July 2025 Published: 28 July 2025

Lavender is known as a natural antidepressant and sleep-promoting herbal medicine. In this study, we compared six distinct drying techniques: Refractance window drying (RW), freeze drying (FD), microwave drying (MW), infrared drying (IR), hot air drying (HA), and shade drying (SD), to evaluate their effects on drying time, energy and physicochemical and phytochemical properties of dried lavender. Moreover, we compared drying methods and their influence on water activity, rehydration ratio, total phenolic content, flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, color, and essential oil. RW and MW drying illustrated short-term drying processes with energy saving. All dried lavender samples demonstrated water activity levels within acceptable limits (less than 0.6). The results showed that FD and RW could preserve the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents compared to other techniques. In addition, there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) between RW and frozen samples regarding essential oil yield and rehydration ratio. The total antioxidant capacity of the fresh sample was significantly higher than that of dried samples, but FD significantly preserved the antioxidant content better than other treatments. Moreover, SD-dried samples had the lowest physicochemical and bioactive properties, which were attributed to oxidation reactions and long drying times. The RW sample showed the least color difference. Among the studied methods, FD and RW are recommended due to their superior ability to preserve bioactive compounds and increase the rehydration ratio. In addition, the RW drying method can provide a suitable alternative to FD by providing less time and energy consumption, practical preservation of physicochemical properties, and fewer color changes.
- drying techniques,
- Refractance window drying,
- physicochemical properties,
- essential oil yield,
- rehydration ratio
Citation: Mohammad Kaveh, Shahin Zomorodi, Malgorzata Nowacka, Faroogh Sharifian, Behnam Gheysari, Kamal Imanian. Comparative effects of conventional and modern drying methods on drying time, energy consumption, and physicochemical properties of lavender (Lavandula stricta Del.)[J]. AIMS Molecular Science, 2025, 12(3): 216-233. doi: 10.3934/molsci.2025014

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Abstract

Lavender is known as a natural antidepressant and sleep-promoting herbal medicine. In this study, we compared six distinct drying techniques: Refractance window drying (RW), freeze drying (FD), microwave drying (MW), infrared drying (IR), hot air drying (HA), and shade drying (SD), to evaluate their effects on drying time, energy and physicochemical and phytochemical properties of dried lavender. Moreover, we compared drying methods and their influence on water activity, rehydration ratio, total phenolic content, flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, color, and essential oil. RW and MW drying illustrated short-term drying processes with energy saving. All dried lavender samples demonstrated water activity levels within acceptable limits (less than 0.6). The results showed that FD and RW could preserve the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents compared to other techniques. In addition, there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) between RW and frozen samples regarding essential oil yield and rehydration ratio. The total antioxidant capacity of the fresh sample was significantly higher than that of dried samples, but FD significantly preserved the antioxidant content better than other treatments. Moreover, SD-dried samples had the lowest physicochemical and bioactive properties, which were attributed to oxidation reactions and long drying times. The RW sample showed the least color difference. Among the studied methods, FD and RW are recommended due to their superior ability to preserve bioactive compounds and increase the rehydration ratio. In addition, the RW drying method can provide a suitable alternative to FD by providing less time and energy consumption, practical preservation of physicochemical properties, and fewer color changes.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Iran National Scientific Foundation (INSF) for the financial support of project no 4020272.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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