Many biological effects of melatonin are produced through activation of melatonin receptors, while others are due to its role as a pervasive and powerful antioxidant, with a particular role in the protection of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.
V tej fazi je temperatura višja kot v primarni fazi sušenja in je lahko celo nad 0 °C, saj hočemo prekiniti fizikalno-kemijske interakcije, ki so nastale med vodnimi molekulami in zamrznjenimi materialom.