Detection of the Adulteration of Dendrobium Huoshanense with Dendrobium Henanense by UV-Vis-Shortwave Near-Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics

• Published in: Journal of AOAC International Vol. 107; no. 1; p. 158
• Main Authors: Hao, Jing-Wen, Chen, Nai-Dong, Liu, Xiao-Quan, Li, Qiang, Xu, Hui-Min, Yang, Wei-Han, Qin, Chao-Feng, Bu, Ya-Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 04.01.2024
• Subjects: Chemometrics; Dendrobium; Discriminant Analysis; Food Contamination - analysis; Least-Squares Analysis; Plant Extracts; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - methods
• ISSN: 1944-7922
• DOI: 10.1093/jaoacint/qsad090

Dendrobium huoshanense (DHS) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with distinctive medicinal benefits and great economic worth; nevertheless, because of similar tastes and looks, it is simple to adulterate with less expensive substitutes (such as Dendrobium henanense [DHN]). This work aimed to develop a reliable tool to detect and quantify the adulteration of DHS with DHN by using UV-Vis-shortwave near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-SWNIR DRS) combined with chemometrics. Adulterated samples prepared in varying concentrations (0-100%, w/w) were analyzed with UV-Vis-SWNIR DRS methods. Partial least-square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and partial least-squares (PLS) regression techniques were used for the differentiation of adulterated DHN from pure DHS and the prediction of adulteration levels. The PLS-DA classification models successfully differentiated adulterated and nonadulterated DHS with an over 100% correct classification rate. UV-Vis-SWNIR DRS data were also successfully used to predict adulteration levels with a high coefficient of determination for calibration (0.9924) and prediction (0.9906) models and low error values for calibration (3.863%) and prediction (5.067%). UV-Vis-SWNIR DRS, as a fast and environmentally friendly tool, has great potential for both the identification and quantification of adulteration practices involving herbal medicines and foods. UV-Vis-SWNIR DRS combined with chemometrics can be applied to identify and quantify the adulteration of herbal medicines and foods.