Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. Quince has many health benefits. Dried quince has been used as a tea for centuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the influences of two drying methods on the antioxidant activity of the quince.
Materiał and methods. Fifty two fresh Iranian ąuinces (Cydonia oblonga) were obtained from different parts of Shiraz. Half of the ąuinces were peeled and both peel and flesh immediately frozen at -20°C individually. The remainder was divided in two groups, and dried with sun and oven drying methods. Proximate analysis, caloric, minerał and vitamin C contents were determined in the fresh ąuinces. The total phenolic, DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power analysis were done on flesh, peel, sun-dried and ovendried ąuinces.
Results. The proximate and nutritional composition of the fresh ąuinces was similar to those reported by other researchers. Oven-dried and ąuince peel contained higher amounts of phenolics than the sun-dried and flesh ąuinces, respectively. Sun-dried and flesh samples showed lower radical scavenging effect and reducing antioxidant capacity than oven-dried and ąuince peel, respectively.
Conclusion. Overall, oven drying can better preserve the antioxidative activity of the ąuince.