Influence of Dehydration in the Physical-Chemical Quality of Commercial Sunflower Almonds

Sunflower almonds are widely marketed and have numerous technological applications. Through the drying process occurs the reduction of the water content of the product, a factor that contributes to increase its useful life. However, nutritional losses and physical damage can also occur. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different temperatures applied in the drying process on the physical-chemical characteristics of commercial sunflower almonds. Convective drying was performed using temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 80 °C. Afterwards, the samples before and after the drying process were analyzed with respect to the following parameters: moisture, water activity, ash, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and energetic value to observe the influence of different drying temperatures on these attributes. It was verified that the increase of the temperature of the drying air causes an increase in the ash content, total solids, lipids, carbohydrates and energetic value. However, the reduction of moisture content, water activity and proteins was observed. There was no significant difference between the samples in relation to pH.