Near-infrared spectroscopy coupled chemometric algorithms for prediction of antioxidant activity of black goji berries (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.)

In this study, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy coupled with partial least-squares (PLS) regression and various efficient variable selection algorithms, synergy interval-PLS (Si-PLS), backward interval PLS (Bi-PLS) and genetic algorithm-PLS (GA-PLS) were applied comparatively for the prediction of antioxidant activity in black wolfberry (BW). The eight assays were used for quantification of antioxidant content. The developed models were assessed using correlation coefficients (R²) of the calibration (Cal.) and prediction (Pre.); root mean square error of prediction, RMSEP; standard Error of Cross-Validation, RMSECV and residual predictive deviation, RPD. The performance of the built model greatly improved by the application of Si-PLS, Bi-PLS and GA-PLS compared with full spectrum PLS. The R² values determined for calibration and prediction set ranged from 0.8479 to 0.9696 and 0.8401 to 0.9638, respectively. These findings revealed that NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric algorithms can be used for quantification of antioxidant activity in BW samples.