Multivariate statistical analysis combined with e-nose and e-tongue assays simplifies the tracing of geographical origins of Lycium ruthenicum Murray grown in China

This study aims to develop a fast and simple method to trace the geographical origins, harvest years and varieties of Lyciwn ruthenicum Murray (LRM) grown in China by employing e-nose and e-tongue assays and their combination. Principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were applied for qualitative classification and quantitative prediction. The results showed that e-nose and e-tongue assays and their combination failed to recognize harvest years and varieties of LRM, but achieved reliable results for tracing LRM geographical origins with a total classification ability of 86.4%, 86.8% and 92.6% respectively. In addition, the analysis procedure required shorter time and less chemical reagents as compared to high-end instrumental analysis or traditional methods like chemical analytical methods and sensory evaluation. This study demonstrated that the multivariate statistical analysis combined with e-nose and e-tongue assays could be a reliable and simplified method of tracing the geographical origins of LRM.