COLOR CHANGE KINETICS OF CELERY LEAVES UNDERGOING MICROWAVE HEATING

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of microwave output power and sample amount on color change kinetics of celery leaves (Apium graveolens L.) during microwave heating. The color parameters of the materials were quantified by the Hunter Lab system. These values were also used for calculation of the total color change, chroma, hue angle, and browning index. The microwave heating process changed color parameters of L, a, and b, causing a color shift towards darker region. The mathematical modeling study of color change kinetic showed that L, a, b, and chroma fitted to a first-order kinetic model, while total color change (E), hue angle, and browning index (BI) followed a zero-order kinetic model. For calculation of the activation energy for color change kinetic parameters, the exponential expression based on the Arrhenius equation was used.