Comparative study of continuous, intermittent, and interval starting-accessibility drying; case of green onion (Allium cepa L.) leaves

Leila Ben Haj Said; Marwa Medini; Chaima Rekik; Imen Abcha; Karim Allaf; Sihem Bellagha

doi:10.1515/ijfe-2023-0176

Article

Comparative study of continuous, intermittent, and interval starting-accessibility drying; case of green onion (Allium cepa L.) leaves

Leila Ben Haj Said , Marwa Medini , Chaima Rekik , Imen Abcha , Karim Allaf and Sihem Bellagha

Published/Copyright: July 2, 2025

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From the journal International Journal of Food Engineering Volume 21 Issue 7

Abstract

Despite their richness in bioactive compounds, green onion (Allium cepa) leaves are rarely valorized. This study compares several drying methods in terms of product quality and process performance: continuous (CCD), intermittent (ICD), interval starting accessibility (ISAD) while, freeze-drying (FD) was used as a control treatment. To achieve the same final water activity, the effective ISAD and ICD drying times were 10 and twice times lower than CCD. During drying, the core temperature of the onion leaves remained stable at 22 °C for ISAD while it reached the drying air temperature during (45 °C) during CCD and 34 °C for ICD. ICD and ISAD dried leaves had a total color difference between a maximum for CCD and a minimum for FD leaves. Moreover, CCD and ICD onion leaves had the highest loss of total phenolic content, while FD and ISAD achieved the highest preservation.

Keywords: onion green leaves; convective drying; interval starting accessibility drying (ISAD); color; phenolic compounds

Corresponding author: Leila Ben Haj Said, University of Carthage, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, UR17AGR01, Research Unit PATIO, Valorization of Tunisian Natural Resources and Food Heritage through Innovation, 1082, Tunis Mahrajene, Tunisia; and Higher School of Agriculture, University of Carthage, 7030, Mateur, Tunisia, E-mail: leila.benhajsaid@esam.ucar.tn

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.L.B.H.S., M.M., C.R., and I.A. wrote the main manuscript text and prepared figures. K.A. and S.B. reviewed the manuscript.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2023-07-18

Accepted: 2025-06-18

Published Online: 2025-07-02

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijfe-2023-0176

Keywords for this article

onion green leaves; convective drying; interval starting accessibility drying (ISAD); color; phenolic compounds