Effects of drying methods on quality of leaves in Pugionium cornutum ( L.) Gaertn.

Air-drying, vacuum drying and blasting drying with different temperature ( 40, 60 and 80 ℃) were compared on the quality of dried and rehydrated leaves of Pugionium cornutum ( L.) Gaertn. and the physical characteristic and nutrition component were investigated.The results showed that obvious differences of physical properties and nutrient contents were found between treated leaves with different drying methods and fresh leaves.In the aspect of physical properties, the rehydration rate of leaves in vacuum drying was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( p < 0.05) .In terms of nutrients, the amino acid, VCand soluble protein content of dried and rehydrated leaves products in vacuum drying were higher than other drying methods ( p < 0.05) .In a word, the vacuum drying did the least harm to the nutrients of leaves and had better reconstituability.It was the better method which had better quality and shorter times for processing.