Recent Progress in Rapid Analyses of Vitamins, Phenolic, and Volatile Compounds in Foods Using Vibrational Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics: a Review

The Sample, the Spectra and the Maths—The Critical Pillars in the Development of Robust and Sound Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy

“…Most of these applications are based on the use of vibrational spectroscopy methods (near infrared (NIR), mid infrared (MIR), and Raman, visible (VIS)) in a wide range of samples (e.g., food ingredients, natural products, crops, animal and plant tissues, medical and pharmaceutical applications; etc.) [9][10][11][12][13]. The number of references using words such as "infrared", "NIR", "Raman", "MIR", "hyperspectral", "green analytical methods", "chemometrics" and "multivariate data analysis" [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], are evidence of this steady increase in the number of applications of these analytical methods.…”

“…In recent years, vibrational spectroscopy has been also considered for its potential as a high throughput phenotyping tool in both animals and plants, where novel applications related with plant breeding and selection, plant nutrition and physiology have been reported in the last 20 years [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. More recently, vibrational spectroscopy (e.g., NIR, MIR, Raman and hyperspectral imaging systems) techniques have shown their ability to qualitatively (e.g., classifying, identifying, and monitoring) analyse several types of samples (e.g., wine, meat, coffee, condiments, etc.…”

“…More recently, vibrational spectroscopy (e.g., NIR, MIR, Raman and hyperspectral imaging systems) techniques have shown their ability to qualitatively (e.g., classifying, identifying, and monitoring) analyse several types of samples (e.g., wine, meat, coffee, condiments, etc. ), targeting issues related with origin, traceability, and provenance of foods and food ingredients [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Concomitantly, recent developments in hardware (e.g., image techniques, optical sensors, handheld instrumentation, etc.)…”

“…This approach is not entirely strange to the industry where applications of these techniques also attracted an increase in interest from the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries, etc. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The main reasons for the increasing use of this approach might be due to the main advantages that these methods and techniques possess when compared with other routine analytical techniques or methods, such as the non-destructive nature of these technologies, minimal or no sample preparation, no chemical reagents required, easy and ready to use instrumentation, and availability of inexpensive and portable devices [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…One of the main analytical advantages of rapid analytical methods or high throughput techniques is that they can evaluate/measure the biochemical and/or chemical characteristics of any given organic compound [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. This might be possible as chemical bonds present in the sample vibrate at specific frequencies or wavelengths depending of their mass of the constituent atoms, the shape of the molecule, and the stiffness of the bonds [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Therefore, the amount and the frequency of the absorbed light and the total reflected or transmitted light can be used to infer the chemical composition of the sample.…”