Prediction of essential oil content of oregano by hand‐held and Fourier transform NIR spectroscopy

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Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the framework of a breeding programme, the analysis of hundreds of oregano samples to determine their essential oil content (EOC) is time‐consuming and expensive in terms of labour. Therefore developing a new method that is rapid, accurate and less expensive to use would be an asset to breeders. The aim of the present study was to develop a method based on near‐inrared (NIR) spectroscopy to determine the EOC of oregano dried powder. Two spectroscopic approaches were compared, the first using a hand‐held NIR device and the second a Fourier transform (FT) NIR spectrometer.RESULTS: Hand‐held NIR (1000–1800 nm) measurements and partial least squares regression allowed the determination of EOC with R2 and SEP values of 0.58 and 0.81 mL per 100 g dry matter (DM) respectively. Measurements with FT‐NIR (1000–2500 nm) allowed the determination of EOC with R2 and SEP values of 0.91 and 0.68 mL per 100 g DM respectively. RPD, RER and RPIQ values for the model implemented with FT‐NIR data were satisfactory for screening application, while those obtained with hand‐held NIR data were below the level required to consider the model as enough accurate for screening application.CONCLUSION: The FT‐NIR approach allowed the development of an accurate model for EOC prediction. Although the hand‐held NIR approach is promising, it needs additional development before it can be used in practice. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry

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