Abstract:Objective: To study the microwave freeze-drying kinetics and product quality of Cornus officinalis. Methods: The microwave freeze-drying technology was used to analyze the drying characteristics, quality changes of total flavonoids and total phenols of Cornus officinalis under different microwave power (100, 200, 300, 400, 500 W), and the related kinetic model was established. Results: The drying process of Cornus officinalis could be divided into two stages: rising rate and decreasing rate, and there was no obvious constant rate stage. The increase of microwave power could improve the drying rate and shorten the drying time. Data fitting showed that page model could accurately predict the change of moisture content in the drying process of Cornus officinalis. In the whole drying process, the total flavonoids content showed two stages of rapid decline and gentle decline, the total phenol content showed a rapid decline trend, and the higher the microwave power, the faster the total flavonoids and total phenol content decreased. The microwave power had significant effects on the rehydration ratio and color (P<0.05). Conclusion: Microwave power can increase drying rate and shorten drying time, but too high microwave power is easy to degrade the quality of dry products.