Journal of Applied and Natural Science 12(2): 71 - 78 (2020) Published online: May 7, 2020 ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) journals.ansfoundation.org Comparison of quality of anardana (dried arils) prepared in mechanical cabinet and solar tunnel drier from wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruits procured from different locations of Himachal Pradesh, India Abhimanyu Thakur* Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan–173230 (Himachal Pradesh), India N.S. Thakur Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan–173230 (Himachal Pradesh), India Hamid Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan–173230 (Himachal Pradesh), India Monika Chauhan Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan–173230 (Himachal Pradesh), India Chetna Sharma Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan–173230 (Himachal Pradesh), India *Corresponding author. E-mail: abhimanyuthakurprashar@gmail.com Abstract The dried arils (anardana) prepared from wild pomegranate fruits ( Punica granatum L.) are widely used as an acidulant in culinary purposes and in formulations of various ayur- vedic medicines which are helpful in curing a number of ailments. As there is a wide vari- ation among the quality of fruits which is due to geographic conditions, climatic factors and genetic variability so anardana was prepared from the fruits of different locations under different drying modes. The prepared product was further compared for its physico- chemical, antioxidant and sensory characteristics. Anardana prepared under mechanical cabinet drier and solar tunnel drier was comparable in terms of its various quality charac- teristics. While comparing the locations for the procurement of raw material, best quality anardana in terms of various quality attributes like colour, TSS [(total soluble solids) (40.35 o B)], total sugars (26.15 %), anthocyanins (37.97 mg/100 g), total phenols (176.46 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (39.45 mg QuE/100 g), antioxidant activity (59.53 %), starch (2.87 %) and sensory characteristics was prepared from the fruits of Karsog location (1265 meters above mean sea level) of Himachal Pradesh, India. Keywords: Antioxidants, Arils, Cabinet drier, Drying, Locations Article Info https://doi.org/10.31018/ jans.v12i2.2247 Received: March 30, 2020 Revised: April 15, 2020 Accepted: May 1, 2020 How to Cite Thakur, A. et al. (2020). Comparison of quality of anardana (dried arils) pre- pared in mechanical cabi- net and solar tunnel drier from wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruits procured from different locations of Himachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Applied and Natural Sci- ence, 12(2): 71 – 78. https://doi.org/10.31018/ jans.v12i2.2247 INTRODUCTION Wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) belongs to family Punicaceae and is one of the most im- portant wild fruits of tropical and subtropical re- gions. The wild form is widely distributed in Trans- caucasia and Central Asia whereas, in India, it is found in the hill slopes of Himachal Pradesh, Jam- mu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand at an altitude of 900 to 1800 m above mean sea level. In Himachal Pradesh, it is distributed in Solan, Sirmour, Mandi, Shimla, Kullu and Chamba districts (Ercisli et al., 2011; Thakur et al., 2011; Thakur et al., 2018). The arils of wild pomegranate are rich in various organic acids, sugars, anthocyanins, phenols, ascorbic acid, anti-oxidants and minerals (Tehranifar et al., 2010; Thakur et al., 2018). Wild pomegranate fruit is also one of the important sources of anti-oxidants which help in the preven- tion of neurodegenerative disorders (Kashyap et al., 2017; Thakur et al., 2018; Thakur et al., 2019). The pomegranate extracts are widely used for curing wide variety of ailments like inflammations and indigestion, vomiting, sore throat, brain dis- eases, spleen complaints, chest troubles, scabies, bronchitis, liver and kidney disorders (Kirtikar and Basu, 1935; Kalaycioglu and Erim, 2017). This work is licensed under Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). © 2018: Author (s). Publishing rights @ ANSF. Research Article