Abstract
Mulberry fruits were semi-dried using hot air ($60-100^{\circ}C$) or cool air ($20-40^{\circ}C$), and the effects of the drying temperature and processing time on the quality of the final dried mulberry fruits were investigated. Response surface methodology was employed to establish a statistical model and predict the conditions resulting in minimal loss of the total phenolic content (TPC) and ascorbic acid. Thus, using overlapped contour plots, the optimal conditions for producing semi-dried mulberry fruits, which reduced the moisture residue to 45% and minimized the nutrient losses of TPC and ascorbic acid, were determined for the hot-air process ($60.7^{\circ}C$ for 5.4 h) and cool-air process ($34.8^{\circ}C$ for 23.3 h). Plus, a higher drying temperature was found to lead to a faster loss of moisture and ascorbic acid, while the TPC was significantly decreased in the cool-air dried mulberry fruits due to the higher activity of polyphenol oxidase between 30 and $40^{\circ}C$.
