Ultrasound processing to enhance drying of cashew apple bagasse puree: Influence on antioxidant properties and in vitro bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds

• Cashew apple bagasse was sonicated and air-dried.
• Sonication enhanced the water diffusivity and the of bioactive compounds content.
• Sonication reduced the hysteresis and increased the rehydration ratio.
• The sorption isotherms followed the type II according to BET classification.
• Sonication resulted in better bioaccessibility of vitamin C and phenolics.

The present study has evaluated the effects of power ultrasound pre-treatment on air-drying and bioactive compounds of cashew apple bagasse. The sonication induced the disruption of cashew bagasse parenchyma, which resulted in lower resistance to water diffusion, less hysteresis, and increased rehydration rate. The processing did not affect the lignocellulose fibers or the sclerenchyma cells. For sonicated samples, water activity reached values below 0.4, after 2 h of drying, which is appropriate to prevent bacterial and fungi growth. The sorption isotherms of cashew apple bagasse presented sigmoid-shape for all samples and followed the type II according to BET classification. Sonicated cashew apple bagasse showed higher antioxidant activity, higher total phenolic compounds (TPC) and higher vitamin C content when compared to the non-sonicated sample. The increase in TPC and vitamin C contributed to the product antioxidant activity. A slight reduction on Vitamin C bioaccessibility was observed, but the TPC bioaccessibility has increased. Sonication reduced the quality loss of conventional drying treatments improving the quality of the dried product.