Rapid and Low-Cost Quantification of Adulteration Content in Camellia Oil Utilizing UV-Vis-NIR Spectroscopy Combined with Feature Selection Methods

Abstract

This study aims to explore the potential use of low-cost ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) spectroscopy to quantify adulteration content of soybean, rapeseed, corn and peanut oils in Camellia oil. To attain this aim, test oil samples were firstly prepared with different adulterant ratios ranging from 1% to 90% at varying intervals, and their spectra were collected by an in-house built experimental platform. Next, the spectra were preprocessed using Savitzky–Golay (SG)–Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) and the feature wavelengths were extracted using four different algorithms. Finally, Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Random Forest (RF) models were developed to rapidly predict adulteration content. The results indicated that SG–CWT with decomposition scale of 25 and the Iterative Variable Subset Optimization (IVSO) algorithm can effectively improve the accuracy of the models. Furthermore, the SVR model performed best for predicting adulteration of camellia oil with soybean oil, while the RF models were optimal for camellia oil adulterated with rapeseed, corn, or peanut oil. Additionally, we verified the models’ robustness by examining the correlation between the absorbance and adulteration content at certain feature wavelengths screened by IVSO. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using low-cost UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy for the authentication of Camellia oil.

Adulteration identification of Hainan camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) oil based on comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography and quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass coupled with chemometrics spectrometry

“…However, this identification method relies on the unique chemical composition of fatty acids and phytosterols, which change when camellia oil is adulterated with other cheaper oils. In addition, the use of UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy in combination with feature selection methods enables rapid and cost-effective quantification of adulterants in camellia oil (Liu et al, 2023). This method provides a non-destructive and efficient way to screen for adulteration, but it may be limited in detecting certain types of adulterants due to the optical properties of the oil.…”