Effect of different drying techniques on the nutrient and physiochemical properties of (ripe banana) powder.

(ripe ) is the staple food of south India, especially Kerala. The present study analyzed the effect of different drying techniques, namely, freeze, spray and tray drying on the retention of nutrients especially micronutrients. Mineral content was determined by using Atomic absorption spectroscopy and Vitamin content was determined through High-performance liquid chromatography. This study aimed to analyze the availability of minerals and water-soluble vitamins in dried ripe banana powder. The micronutrient content of freeze-dried banana powder was observed to be with 486.92 ± 0.12 mg/100 g of potassium, 0.60 ± 0.005 mg/100 g of calcium, 3.10 ± 0.10 mg/100 g of sodium, 3.82 ± 0.02 mg/100 g of iron, 6.28 ± 0.04 mg/100 g of vitamin C and 0.606 ± 0.005 mg/100 g of vitamin B6. Along with micronutrient analysis, proximate, and various important physiochemical properties were also analyzed. The results showed that freeze-drying was the best technique to preserve nutrients present in ripe banana. Structure analysis of dried banana was done using scanning electron microscopy indicated that remarkable changes has occurred in both tray and spray dried banana when comparing to freeze dried banana. Data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA, found significantly differ at  < 0.05 with respect to drying methods.