Control of the extractable content of bioactive compounds in coffee beans by near infrared hyperspectral imaging

Control of coffee quality has a great importance for being one of the most important raw materials within the international trade. The extractable composition of coffee has been studied in recent decades and the use of non-destructive methodologies is being continuously promoted. In this study, near infrared hyperspectral imaging has been applied to develop non-destructive methods for the control of extractable contents of caffeine, chlorogenic acid, total phenolics and melanoidins in coffee beans. Extractable contents and trends obtained among the different coffee types analysed are similar to those obtained previously in other studies. Moreover, modified partial least square (MPLS) regressions produced prediction models with standard errors of prediction in external validation of 12.01%, 15.61% and 17.61% for caffeine, chlomgenic acid and total phenolics, respectively. Therefore, results obtained for these three parameters indicate that NIR spectroscopy has a great potential for their control in coffee beans.