Implementation of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics for the Authentication of Patin (Pangasius micronema) Fish Oil Emulsion

Patin fish oil (PFO) contains a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acid that has beneficial effects on the human body, such as preventing various cardiovascular diseases, maintaining body fat composition, and aiding in human brain development. PFO can be developed as patin fish oil emulsion (PFOE) and used as a dietary supplement. Given its beneficial value, PFOE is at risk of being adulterated with low-quality oils. Therefore, authentication is crucial to guarantee its quality and safety. However, authenticating PFOE is difficult because its physical appearances are masked by the emulsion component. This study aims to authenticate PFOE using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Adulteration models were prepared using palm oil (PO) as an adulterant. All samples were analyzed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy at 4000–650 cm−1. Chemometric techniques such as discriminant analysis (DA), partial least square regression, and principal component regression (PCR) were adopted for quantitative analysis. Results showed that DA successfully discriminated PFOE from the adulterant. PCR within the normal spectrum of 1004–2936 cm−1 produced the best values of 0,9846 highest R2cal, 0,9073 R2pred, 0,0565 lowest root mean square error of calibration, and 0,1330 root mean square error of prediction. Therefore, FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics is a rapid, accurate, and suitable method for distinguishing pure PFOE from PO adulterant. Copyright © 2023 by Indonesian Journal of Pharmacy (IJP).