Qualitative Analysis of Traditional Italian Dishes: FTIR Approach

Abstract

Italian cuisine and its traditional recipes experience an ever-increasing popularity around the world. The “Integrated Approach” is the key to modern food research and the innovative challenge for analyzing and modeling agro-food systems in their totality. The present study aims at applying and evaluating Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the analysis of complex food matrices and food preparations. Nine traditional Italian recipes, including First courses, One-dish meals, Side courses, and Desserts, were selected and experimentally prepared. Prior to their analysis via FTIR spectroscopy, the samples were homogenized and lyophilized. The IR spectroscopic characterization and the assignment of the main bands was carried out. Numerous peaks, which correspond to functional groups and modes of vibration of the individual components, were highlighted. The spectra are affected by both the preparation procedures, the cooking methods, and the cooking time. The qualitative analysis of the major functional groups can serve as a basis for a discrimination of the products and the investigation of fraud. For this purpose, the FTIR spectra were evaluated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Our results show how the utilization of vibrational spectroscopy combined with a well-established chemometric data analysis method represents a potentially powerful tool in research linked to the food sector and beyond. This study is a first step towards the development of new indicators of food quality.

Influence of Ripening on Chemical Characteristics of a Traditional Italian Cheese: Provolone del Monaco

“…The joined approach of multidisciplinary analysis techniques of food matrices with the multivariate statistical approach enlarges the possibilities to exploit a wide range of food traits and aspects. The "Integrated Approach" is the key to modern food research and the innovative challenge for analyzing and modelling agro-food systems in their totality [40][41][42][43]. To better understand the VOC distribution during ripening, a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was carried out using the recorded dataset, which is shown in Figure 2.…”

2-Deoxyglucose-Modified Folate Derivative: Self-Assembling Nanoparticle Able to Load Cisplatin

“…The FTIR spectra of different samples are shown in Figure 3. The blue dotted box marked in each spectrum outlines the locations of O–H and N–H signals, which are donors or receptors of intermolecular hydrogen bonds [33]. For 2-DG, the peaks of four O–H stretching vibrations occur at 3406 cm −1 , 3346.51 cm −1 , 3248.30 cm −1 , and 3128.17 cm −1 , as shown in Figure 3A.…”

Nutritional and Physicochemical Characterization of Strychnos madagascariensis Poir (Black Monkey Orange) Seeds as a Potential Food Source

“…FTIR spectroscopy has gained popularity in the food industry as it is a rapid and non-destructive technique for the analysis of food compositions. This technique is simple and requires little to no sample preparation as samples may be analysed in their original state [ 19 ]. The IR Affinity-1S series FTIR equipment (Shimadza, Japan) was used for the analysis.…”