PENGARUH KOMBINASI SUHU DAN DEHUMIDIFIKASI UDARA PENGERING TERHADAP AKTIVITAS ANTIOKSIDAN IRISAN BUAH MENGKUDU (Morinda citrifolia)

Abstract

ABSTRACT          Fresh noni fruit has nutrients and active components and contains high water content. Noni has a short shelf life caused by high of water content, so it is necessary to reduce the water content of the material by drying. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of method and drying temperature combination on antioxidant activity of noni slices which include ascorbic acid, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. This study was designed using Randomized Block Design (RBD) with combination of 2 treatment factors, namely the drying temperature (T) and the drying method (M) and 3 replications. The drying method uses three methods, namely conventional hot air, dehydrated hot air, and circulated dehydrated hot air, while the drying temperature used was 50 ° C, 57 ° C and 65 ° C. Data analysis for ascorbic acid, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity using ANOVA test (α = 5%) and HSD test (α = 5%), while drying time was analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the highest antioxidant activity with conventional methods at 50 ºC was 34% with the characteristics of ascorbic acid 52.8 mg/100g of noni dried fruit, total flavonoids 3.81 mg QE/g of noni dried fruit, and drying time for 18 hours. Keywords: adsorbent, antioxidant, drying, noni, temperature ABSTRAK   Buah mengkudu segar kaya akan nutrisi dan komponen aktif serta mengandung kadar air tinggi. Tingginya kadar air mengakibatkan masa simpan yang singkat, sehingga perlu dilakukan pengeringan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh kombinasi metode dan suhu pengeringan terhadap aktivitas antioksidan irisan buah mengkudu yang meliputi asam askorbat, total flavonoid, dan aktivitas antioksidan. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) desain faktorial yang terdiri dari kombinasi dua faktor perlakuan, yaitu suhu pengeringan (T) dan metode pengeringan (M) serta 3 ulangan. Metode pengeringan menggunakan tiga metode, yaitu metode konvensional, metode adsorpsi dan metode sirkulasi, sedangkan suhu pengeringan yaitu 50 °C, 57 °C dan 65°C. Analisa data untuk asam askorbat, total flavonoid, dan aktivitas antioksidan menggunakan ANOVA (α=5%) dan uji BNJ (α=5%), sedangkan lama pengeringan dianalisa secara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aktivitas antioksidan tertinggi dengan metode konvensional pada suhu 50 ºC yaitu sebesar 34% dengan karakteristik asam askobat sebesar 52,8 mg/100g buah mengkudu kering, total flavonoid sebesar 3,81 mg QE/g buah mengkudu kering, dan lama pengeringan selama 18 jam. Kata kunci: adsorben, antioksidan, mengkudu, pengeringan, suhu