Salvanal, L.; Gabilondo, J.; Corbino, G.; Budde, C. O.; LARA, M. V.

Peach is a great-taste fruit, source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. It is a seasonal fruit which cannot be stored for prolonged periods of time. To enhance its consumption over the year, to favor its intake as a snack, to use it in the industry, to use the overproduced peach and to add value to the fruit, osmotic dehydration (OD) followed by hot-air drying is a suitable process (OD+D). Here, we compared the use of three different osmolytes (Glucose, Sorbitol or Sucrose) and four peach cultivars (Flordaking, Goldprince, Elegant Lady and Dixiland) exposed to OD+D to study the effect on organoleptic, nutritional and nutraceutical properties of the peach. OD+D were compared against fresh fruit exclusively exposed to hot-air treatment (D). A moisture content of about 17.5 % was obtained in OD+D and D peaches. On one hand, moisture content, water loss, solute gain and colour were dependent on the cultivar. Higher metabolites and antioxidant capacity retention was observed for OD+D peach slices with respect to D peaches, minimizing adverse changes such as carotenoid decrease typical of D and even improving some features such as tannin content. Moreover, OD+D improved the inhibition towards protease, -amylase and -amyloglucosidase, key enzymes involved in inflammatory process and hyperglycemia management. The dehydration processes modified the antimicrobial capacity of peach slices, with responses varying depending on the cultivar and obtaining better inhibitions than in D. Finally, besides mineral composition was altered in OD+D due to leaking to the solution, the addition of calcium in the hyperosmotic solution resulted in calcium enriched dried peaches. Collectively, the results presented reveal the influence of the cultivar on the properties of the dried fruit and highlight the benefits of the osmotic pretreatments prior conventional drying.