Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics for the rapid detection of coconut water adulteration

Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), in combination with chemometrics, was explored as a rapid method of detecting sugar adulteration in coconut water. In a simulated experiment, coconut water was substituted with binary sugars, mixed sugars, and high fructose corn syrup and discriminated using the fingerprint infrared band region between 1200 and 950 cm-1. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed on data pre-processed by the Savitzky-Golay smoothing and gap-segment derivative, revealed data clusters discernible by the type and level of substituted sugars, enabling visual diagnosis of the similarity and anomalous features in the dataset. Statistical performance metrics following a cross-validated partial least square (PLS) regression indicated the prediction of adulterant sugars at single-digit percent substitutions. A parallel exploratory analysis of 31 different commercial coconut water samples showed a distinct PCA clustering for samples bearing the label ?added sugar?, suggesting the potential use of the methods to screening samples for undeclared sugar additions.

Automated summary

ATR-FTIR combined with chemometrics was explored as a rapid method of detecting sugar adulteration in coconut water. The method enabled the prediction of adulterant sugars and showed potential for screening samples for undeclared sugar additions.