TITLE:
Traceability of Active Compounds of Essential Oils in Antimicrobial Food Packaging Using a Chemometric Method by ATR-FTIR
AUTHORS:
Andrea Carolina Solano Valderrama, Gante Cecilia Rojas De
KEYWORDS:
Chemometrics, Essential Oils, Antimicrobial Packaging, ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Analytical Chemistry,
Vol.8 No.11,
November
14,
2017
ABSTRACT: A simple and rapid Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy method
was developed to determine the main essential oil components (carvacrol, thymol
and p-cymene) in the antimicrobial LDPE films incorporated with oregano (Origanum
vulgare) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oils. The ATR-FTIR spectrum of pure active components (carvacrol, thymol and p-cymene) was characterized, and the ranges
between 1125 cm-1 - 1095 cm-1, 1170 cm-1 - 1140 cm-1 and 1050 cm-1 - 1017 cm-1 were respectively used for quantitative estimation. Partial least square (PLS)
analysis was used for quantitative analysis. FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics, using the PLS-1st derivative
spectra, could predict the content of active compounds accurate to an r2 greater than 0.99 and a standard
error of prediction (SEP) less than 0.7. The developed method was successfully
applied to predict the concentration of
active compounds: carvacrol, thymol and p-cymene in oregano and thyme essential
oils with results compared to those of the GC-MS method. The described
non-destructive method can be applied in the industry instead of extraction,
distillation and blend processes of the mentioned essential oils and can be extended to detect the content of carvacrol, thymol and
p-cymene in active packaging and other commercial products.