DETERMINAÇÃO DOS PARÂMETROS PARA A SECAGEM EM CAMADA DE ESPUMA (FOAM-MAT DRYING) DAS FOLHAS DO MASTRUZ (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.)

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants is a very old way used by humanity for the treatment, cure and prevention of diseases. This popular knowledge related to traditional medicine has been conducted scientific studies to ensure the effectiveness and care of the use of these plants by the population and to encourage the use as a therapeutic alternative. The mastruz is considered one of the most used species as a traditional remedy worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and it is one of the 71 medicinal plants listed by the Ministry of Health as of interest to SUS. Among the various indications, it is known for its actions: antiinflammatory, anthelmintic, antiviral, healing, expectorant, antifungal, among others. As in natura plants have a short shelf life, for application in the pharmaceutical industry is necessary to use methods such as drying to preserve them. In addition to increasing the product's useful life, drying increases its added value and minimizes transport and storage costs. The foam-mat drying method is a low-cost process widely used in foods such as fruit purees, juices and pulps. In view of the above, this work aimed to determine the parameters for drying in the foam-mat of the mastruz leaves, by analyzing density, percentage of expansion and incorporation of air, stability, pH and acidity of the foam produced using Portogel® as a foaming agent. The drying experiments were carried out from the complete factorial experimental planning 23 + 3 central points, totaling 11 experiments for foam optimization, with three independent variables: concentration of the foaming agent (3%, 5% and 7%); foam agitation time (3min, 5min and 7min) and temperature (50°C, 60°C e 70°C). The best condition for foam formation was 7% Portogel® and 7 minutes of agitation, presenting the most stable foam with an average density of 0,1005 g/cm³, humidity of 94,75% and the highest expansion percentages (874,0298%) and incorporation of air (1100%). There were no significant variations in the pH and acidity of the foams.