The dynamic changes in product attributes of shiitake mushroom pilei and stipes during dehydration by hot air drying

The dynamic changes in product attributes of shiitake mushroom pilei and stipes during dehydration by hot air drying (HAD) were analyzed. During dehydration, discoloration was greater during the fresh point (FP) to standard point (SP) than that during SP to the constant weight point (CWP). The hardness declined and then rose gradually from SP to CWP. C8 compounds (including 1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanol, 2-octen-1-ol, 1-octanol, octanal, 2-octenal, and 3-octanone) showed significant decline (p < .05) from FP to SP. However, the sulfur compounds (including the thioether compounds and cyclic sulfur compounds), 5 '-GMP, and 5 '-AMP increased significantly (p < .05) from the SP to CWP. The combined model fitted the quality changes with the highest Adj. R-2. Besides, e-nose and e-tongue could distinguish samples in different moisture content. The study illustrated that SP was an important turning point for changes in shiitake mushroom product attributes during dehydration. Practical applications Shiitake mushrooms are the second most cultivated edible mushrooms in the world. However, fresh shiitake mushrooms are easy to undergo postharvest quality deterioration. Sun drying is the most common method to preserve agricultural products, but has disadvantages in industrialized production. Hot air drying (HAD) is another processing method. Texture, color, volatile compounds, and nucleotides are important product attributes and flavor qualities for dried products, which influence consumers' acceptability and products' market value. Moreover, pilei and stipes in mushrooms usually show different attributes. However, there have been few studies focusing on the quality changes of shiitake mushrooms following the moisture changes and the different parts of shiitake mushrooms treated by HAD. This study will investigate the dynamic changes in product attributes of shiitake mushroom pilei and stipes following moisture content loss during dehydration induced by HAD, and also provide a good basis for clarifying the effect of dehydration on edible fungi manufacture by HAD.