Prediction of essential oil content of oregano by hand-held and Fourier transform NIR spectroscopy

Camps C, Gérard M, Quennoz M, Brabant C, Oberson C, Simonnet X
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2014


ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND:

In the framework of a breeding programme, the analysis of hundreds of oregano samples to determine their essential oil content (EOC) is time-consuming and expensive in terms of labour. Therefore developing a new method that is rapid, accurate and less expensive to use would be an asset to breeders. The aim of the present study was to develop a method based on near-inrared (NIR) spectroscopy to determine the EOC of oregano dried powder. Two spectroscopic approaches were compared, the first using a hand-held NIR device and the second a Fourier transform (FT) NIR spectrometer.

RESULTS:
Hand-held NIR (1000-1800 nm) measurements and partial least squares regression allowed the determination of EOC with R(2) and SEP values of 0.58 and 0.81 mL per 100 g dry matter (DM) respectively. Measurements with FT-NIR (1000-2500 nm) allowed the determination of EOC with R(2) and SEP values of 0.91 and 0.68 mL per 100 g DM respectively. RPD, RER and RPIQ values for the model implemented with FT-NIR data were satisfactory for screening application, while those obtained with hand-held NIR data were below the level required to consider the model as enough accurate for screening application.

CONCLUSION:
The FT-NIR approach allowed the development of an accurate model for EOC prediction. Although the hand-held NIR approach is promising, it needs additional development before it can be used in practice.

CITATION:

Camps C, Gérard M, Quennoz M, et al. Prediction of essential oil content of oregano by hand-held and Fourier transform NIR spectroscopy. J Sci Food Agric. 2014;94(7):1397-1402.


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