ILOILO City – Tea producers in Iloilo, heads up!
The Iloilo Science and Technology University is developing a programmable dehydrator machine for herbal tea materials.
The project is a response to the need of local tea producers for suitable equipment and technical knowledge and skills in herbal tea processing.
Herbal tea products are gaining acceptance from health-conscious consumers but there are conditions and requirements to get the full potential and health benefits from herbal teas.
“Processors need to know the bioactive compounds in the raw and dehydrated materials and define the optimal dehydration condition and length of drying period, at which the highest possible nutrients are still preserved,” the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
Bioactive compounds are chemical elements in herbal plant parts with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer properties, to name a few.
The dehydrator machine will have a “programmable circuit system” that will control and monitor the temperature and humidity of the drying system, project leader and professor Dr. Renerio L. Mucas said during the project inception meeting at the university in La Paz, Iloilo City.
The project will study the drying method currently used by local tea producers which will be considered in designing the prototype. Once developed, the prototype – which will be powered by solar energy backed up by electric power –will be tested and modified if necessary.
Herbal tea materials that passed through the dehydrator machine will be assessed – their organoleptic, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics will be determined.
The project has been approved by the DOST’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.
It will be made at the Iloilo Science and Technology University and tests will be held with the help of Ephrathah Farms in Badiangan, Iloilo.
Aside from the machine, the project is expected to establish a drying protocol and optimum condition for best results, determine the shelf life of the finished product, and secure patent or utility model application for the machine and other technologies. (With reports from DOST/PN)
