Raman-spectroscopy-based differentiation between cow and buffalo milk

In this study, Raman spectroscopy together with chemometric techniques has been demonstrated to differentiate between cow and buffalo milk. The Raman spectra of milk samples of bovine contain peaks which show significant variation in intensity as well as in Raman shift positions. The outcome of results indicates that Raman spectroscopy successfully differentiates between cow and buffalo milk based on the presence and absence of -carotene, respectively. It also shows that buffalo milk contains comparatively high fat (unsaturated/saturated) content. Principal component analysis-based algorithm further highlighted the difference and shows clear separation between the two data sets on the basis of features obtained from their Raman spectra. Consequently, -carotene could be a good biomarker for differentiating cow and buffalo milk. Present study will help to establish the use spectroscopic technique for the detection of adulterants in milk which is of significant concern worldwide. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.