Studies on the effect of different solar dryers on the vitamin content of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon)

Samples of tomato fruit were dried under four different conditions: open-air sun drying method and by using three different models of integral passive solar dryers which include green house solar dryer, sun-tracking solar dryer, and latitudinal box solar dryer. The fresh tomato samples and the dried samples were analysed for vitamins A, C, and E. The results showed a significant difference in the concentrations of vitamins A, C, and E between the fresh samples and the dried samples for all drying systems. While vitamin C is reduced in concentration for all dried samples, vitamins A and E are increased significantly with open-air system having the highest value in vitamin C concentration while latitudinal box dryer gives the best result in terms of vitamins A and E retention. All year round, availability of tomato could be enhanced by chipping and drying. Packaging and marketing of dried chips in small quantities could be a lucrative entrepreneurial endeavour for the business minded. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4763563]