Study of nutrient loss in oyster mushroom after drying by different methods

Drying is the process of removal of moisture from the product to such a low level that microbial and biochemical activities are checked due to reduced water activity, which makes the products suitable for safe storage and protection against the attack by microorganisms during the storage. Drying was done by three different methods that is Air Drying (450 C), Sun Drying (12-250 C) and Oven Drying (650 C) till complete drying. This was done to find out the better drying method, by comparing the nutritive value after biochemical analysis. From storage point of view oven drying is better than sun drying because moisture content decreases at the level of 4.4% that is in higher magnitude. Air drying was found to be the best method of drying, as the highest nutrient value was found in this case; whether it is the matter of protein, lipid, ash or carbohydrates content. However, moisture content in the samples subjected to this method of drying was higher, as compared to the other two methods.