Effect of microwave power on protein and total phenolic content of pineapple waste

Pineapple waste produced from pineapple canning industries contains many nutritional values and can be utilized for many purposes. In the early days, the wastes are disposed by burning but it poses environmental threat such as haze. However, before utilizing the pineapple waste, it is important that the parts should be preserved to avoid spoilage and extend the shelf life. Thus, drying is applied. The aim of this research is to study the drying characteristics of pineapple waste in microwave drying using different powers which are 300W, 450W and 600W and to identify the amount of protein and total phenolic content available in microwave dried products. For protein determintation, the method used is Bradford reagent method. It was found out that the protein degrades at very high power. For phenolics, the method used is Folin Ciolcateu method. It was observed that higher microwave power used results in higher phenolic content. The phenolic content was determined as gallic acid equivalent.