DRYING CHARACTERISTICS AND KINETICS OF LOVASTATIN DEGRADATION OF OYSTER MUSHROOM (PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS) SLICES

Abstract

Oyster mushroom slices were dried using hot air dryer. The lovastatin content in oyster mushroom slices during drying was evaluated at 45, 55 and 65˚C. The first-order reaction model adequately described degradation of lovastatin. In this study, the modeling of the drying process was also performed. Four mathematical models were fitted to the experimental data. The performance of these models is evaluated by comparing the coefficient of determination, root mean square error and reduce chi-square between the observed and predicted moisture ratio. The Page model gave the best results for describing drying of oyster mushroom slices.