Non-destructive determination of ?-carotene content in mango by near-infrared spectroscopy compared with colorimetric measurements.
Rungpichayapichet P., Mahayothee B., Khuwijitjaru P., Nagle M., Müller J.
Author Affiliation: Universität Hohenheim (440e), Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Tropics and Subtropics Group, Stuttgart 70599, Germany.
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 38 : 32-41
Abstract : Non-destructive applications for the detection of food quality, especially internal properties, are highly relevant for process control in the food industry. In this respect, colour measurement and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were evaluated and compared for their ability to predict ?-carotene content in mango cv. 'Nam Dokmai'. Colorimetric analysis of peel and flesh colour as well as NIR measurements in the short- (700-1100 nm) and long-wave regions (1000-2500 nm) were analysed for prediction ability. It was found that ?-carotene content could be estimated by multiple linear regression (MLR) models developed from b* and hue angle (h°) values of the flesh with good results for coefficient of determination (R2) and standard errors of cross validation (SECV) of 0.941 and 10.2 retinol equivalents (RE) 100 g-1 edible part (EP), respectively, while peel colour showed poor results. However, flesh colour measurement is a destructive method. NIRS calibration showed good results with R2 >0.800 and standard error of prediction (SEP) 11.642-20.2 RE 100 g-1 EP. Long-wave NIR provided better prediction ability than short-wave. From these results, NIRS can be recommended for non-destructive and reliable determination of ?-carotene content in mango. The results have implications for quality control in the industrial handling and processing of fruits.