Abstract:In order to prepare high-quality dried snake gourd slices， the effects of hot-air drying （HD），vacuum freeze-drying（FD）， and sun drying（SD） on the drying characteristics， chemical composition， and biological activity （chemical and cellular antioxidant， α-amylase， and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity） were compared. The results showed that HD had the fastest drying rate and yielded higher content of total phenols and flavonoids （0.16% and 0.18%， respectively）. The snake gourd slice treated by FD had a loose structure，good color and morphology， and high total sugar content （23.77%）. The structures of snake gourd slices after HD and SD were shriveled and had browning. Extracts by HD had a higher scavenging ability for DPPH· and ABTS+·. It could effectively protect HepG2 cells from H2O2 damage， significantly reduce the level of reactive oxygen species （ROS）， increase the activity of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， catalase （CAT）， and glutathione （GSH）， and had a higher inhibitory effect on α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The water extracts were better than the alcohol extracts. In conclusion， the dried products of snake gourd could be prepared with higher quality by HD. The extracts of snake gourd had good biological activity and could be used as raw materials for the development of functional food.