Development of Powdered Mixed Green Tea and Okra Beverage Product by Spray Drying

Thai herbal juices tend to lose nutrients during heat processing. Spray-drying has been one of the most well-known methods of powder production, which involves the transformation of liquid material into dried particles. The study performed the suitable conditions of spray drying for green tea and okra powder qualities. Maltodextrin as a carrier at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 percent were added to mixed green tea and okra powder. Three inlet and fixed outlet temperatures of 150, 160, 170 and 75C, respectively, were also analysed. Physicochemical properties such as colour, moisture, water activity, pH, yield percentage total phenolic and antioxidant inhibition percentage (DPPH, FRAP and ABTS assay) were assessed, while sensory tests were also performed. The inlet temperature of 150C, maltodextrin 10% showed the highest values of the three assays in terms of antioxidant inhibition percentage (DPPH, ABTS (VEAC), (TEAC) and FRAP assays) and total phenolic compound were 0.235%, 0.974 mM/g, 0.696 mM/g, 0.962 mM Fe+2 /g and 0.235 ppm, respectively. A sensory test of each product’s overall acceptability was performed by 30 untrained panelists using the ranking test. The results revealed that the inlet temperature of 150C, maltodextrin 30% was the most accepted (the highest yield percentage), while the inlet temperature of 170C, maltodextrin 30% was the least accepted. The information obtained describes the most exceptional advantages of the spray-drying method for the production of food particles. Further, the potential of this technique and more advanced equipment to develop processes and industrial-scale processes is essential to the bench-to-bedside translation of innovative instant powdered herbal Thai beverage products.