Authentication analysis of milkfish oil treated with activated charcoal and bentonite using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis

Adulteration issues are important not only for fats and oils consumers but also for producers and regulatory bodies, therefore authentication analytical methods are continuously developed. The objective of this study was to highlight the employment of attenuated total Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and chemometrics for the authentication of milkfish oil (MFO) from pumpkin seed oil (PSO). In this study, ATR-FTIR spectra of MFO, PSO and its binary mixtures were scanned, and the information obtained was used for quantitative analysis of adulterants and classification between authentic MFO and MFO adulterated with PSO. Two multivariate calibrations of partial least square calibration (PLSR) and principal component regression (PCR) were compared for their performance during quantitative analysis and linear discriminant analysis was applied for discrimination between authentic MFO and MFO adulterated with PSO. The results revealed that PLSR using 2nd derivative spectra at wavenumbers of 1500-1000 cm-1 was preferred for simultaneous quantitative analysis of MFO-treated with activated charcoal, while PCR using 2nd derivative spectra at wavenumbers of 1500-1000 cm-1 was suitable for analysis of MFO-treated with bentonite providing the acceptable values of R2, root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). Linear discriminant Analysis using normal FTIR spectra at the whole wavenumber region was successful for the discrimination of MFO treated with activated charcoal and bentonite with accuracy levels of 100. It can be concluded that the chemometrics approach for ATR-FTIR spectra could be a simple and effective tool for the authentication of MFO. © 2023 The Authors.