Effect of drying temperature and natural preservatives on reducing aflatoxins in solar dried persimmon (Diospyros kaki L)

Experiments were conducted in 2013-14 to study the effect of drying temperature and natural preservatives for reducing aflatoxins in dried persimmons. persimmons were dried using a flat plate solar collector connected to a drying chamber at a temperature range of 40 to 60°c and less than 10% relative humidity. persimmons dried at 40°c took 22,at 50°c 19 and at 60°c 17 hours to minimize moisture from 76% to less than 9% under an average drying rates of 0.11,0.12 and 0.13 gh2o.gd.m-1 respectively. after drying the samples were studied for aflatoxins. analysis of variance was done using two factorial completely randomized design. the analysis of variance (anova) showed that both the factors significantly (α≤0.01) affect the aflatoxin deposition in dried persimmons. maximum aflatoxins of 31.7 μg kg−1 was recorded in persimmons treated with aloe vera and dried under a temperature of 40°c with b1 and g1 type of aflatoxins while minimum of 7.1 μg kg−1 was recorded in persimmons treated with honey and dried under a temperature of 60°c with g1 type. it was concluded that increase in temperature of the drying system decreased the contamination by fungus up to 22%. also the overall performance of honey was good as compared to aloe vera gel used as natural preservatives for reducing aflatoxins in dried persimmons. © pakistan academy of sciences.