Classification of Bee Pollen and Prediction of Sensory and Colorimetric Attributes-A Sensometric Fusion Approach by e-Nose, e-Tongue and NIR.

The chemical composition of bee pollens differs greatly and depends primarily on the botanical origin of the product. Therefore, it is a crucially important task to discriminate pollens of different plant species. In our work, we aim to determine the applicability of microscopic pollen analysis, spectral colour measurement, sensory, NIR spectroscopy, e-nose and e-tongue methods for the classification of bee pollen of five different botanical origins. Chemometric methods (PCA, LDA) were used to classify bee pollen loads by analysing the statistical pattern of the samples and to determine the independent and combined effects of the above-mentioned methods. The results of the microscopic analysis identified 100% of sunflower, red clover, rapeseed and two polyfloral pollens mainly containing lakeshore bulrush and spiny plumeless thistle. The colour profiles of the samples were different for the five different samples. E-nose and NIR provided 100% classification accuracy, while e-tongue > 94% classification accuracy for the botanical origin identification using LDA. Partial least square regression (PLS) results built to regress on the sensory and spectral colour attributes using the fused data of NIR spectroscopy, e-nose and e-tongue showed higher than 0.8 R2 during the validation except for one attribute, which was much higher compared to the independent models built for instruments.

Individual and Combined Effects of Fumonisin B1, Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone on the Hepatic and Renal Membrane Lipid Integrity of Rats.

(1) Background and (2) Methods: A 14-day in vivo, multitoxic (pure mycotoxins) rat experiment was conducted with zearalenone (ZEA; 15 µg/animal/day), deoxynivalenol (DON; 30 µg/animal/day) and fumonisin B1 (FB1; 150 µg/animal/day), as individual mycotoxins, binary (FD, FZ and DZ) and ternary combinations (FDZ), via gavage in 1 mL water boluses. (3) Results: Body weight was unaffected, while liver (ZEA↑ vs. DON) and kidney weight (ZEA↑ vs. FDZ) increased. Hepatocellular membrane lipid fatty acids (FAs) referred to ceramide synthesis disturbance (C20:0, C22:0), and decreased unsaturation (C22:5 n3 and unsat. index), mainly induced by DON and to a lesser extent by ZEA. The DON-FB1 interaction was additive on C20:0 in liver lipids. In renal phospholipids, ZEA had the strongest effect on the FA profile, affecting the saturated (C18:0) and many n6 FAs; ZEA was in an antagonistic relationship with FB1 (C18:0) or DON (C18:2 n6, C20:1 n9). Hepatic oxidative stress was the most expressed in FD (reduced glutathione and glutathione peroxidase), while the nephrotoxic effect was further supported by lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) in the DON treatment. (4) Conclusions: In vivo study results refer to multiple mycotoxin interactions on membrane FAs, antioxidants and lipid peroxidation compounds, needing further testing.

NIR detection of honey adulteration reveals differences in water spectral pattern.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was mixed with four artisanal Robinia honeys at various ratios (0-40%) and near infrared (NIR) spectra were recorded with a fiber optic immersion probe. Levels of HFCS adulteration could be detected accurately using leave-one-honey-out cross-validation (RMSECV=1.48; R(2)CV=0.987), partial least squares regression and the 1300-1800nm spectral interval containing absorption bands related to both water and carbohydrates. Aquaphotomics-based evaluations showed that unifloral honeys contained more highly organized water than the industrial sugar syrup, supposedly because of the greater variety of molecules dissolved in the multi-component honeys. Adulteration with HFCS caused a gradual reduction of water molecular structures, especially water trimers, which facilitate interaction with other molecules. Quick, non-destructive NIR spectroscopy combined with aquaphotomics could be used to describe water molecular structures in honey and to detect a rather common form of adulteration.

Water spectral pattern as holistic marker for water quality monitoring.

Online water quality monitoring technologies have been improving continuously. At the moment, water quality is defined by the respective range of few chosen parameters. However, this strategy requires sampling and it cannot provide evaluation of the entire water molecular system including various solutes. As it is nearly impossible to monitor every single molecule dissolved in water, the objective of our research is to introduce a complimentary approach, a new concept for water screening by observing the water molecular system changes using aquaphotomics and Quality Control Chart method. This approach can continuously provide quick information about any qualitative change of water molecular arrangement without taking into account the reason of the alteration of quality. Different species and concentrations of solutes in aqueous systems structure the water solvent differently. Aquaphotomics investigates not the characteristic absorption bands of the solute in question, but the solution absorption at vibrational bands of water's covalent and hydrogen bonds that have been altered by the solute. The applicability of the proposed concept is evaluated by monitoring the water structural changes in different aqueous solutions such as acid, sugar, and salt solutions at millimolar concentration level and in ground water. The results show the potential of the proposed approach to use water spectral pattern monitoring as bio marker of water quality. Our successful results open a new venue in water quality monitoring by offering a quick and cost effective method for continuous screening of water molecular arrangement. Instead of the regular analysis of individual physical or chemical parameters, with our method - as a complementary tool - the structural changes of water molecular system used as a mirror reflecting even small disturbances in water can indicate the necessity of further detailed analysis by conventional methods.

Water revealed as molecular mirror when measuring low concentrations of sugar with near infrared light.

Near infrared spectroscopy is an overtone spectroscopy regarded as a quick and non-destructive method that provides analytical solutions for components that represent approximately 1% or more of the total mass of the investigated composite samples. Aquaphotomics offers the possibility for disentanglement of information remaining hidden in the spectra when conventional data evaluation methods are used, since this concept utilizes changes of the water structure induced by the measured solute as specific molecular vibrations at water bands. Here, near infrared technique and aquaphotomics are applied for non-destructive identification and quantification of mono- and di-saccharide solutes at 100-0.02 mM concentration that is accepted as unachievable with near infrared spectroscopy. The results presented in this study support the aquaphotomics' water molecular mirror concept that explores spectral changes related to water molecular rearrangements caused by minute changes of the solutes in the aqueous systems. The method provides quick and accurate alternative for classical analytical measurements of saccharides even at millimolar concentration levels.

Monitoring of Water Spectral Pattern Reveals Differences in Probiotics Growth When Used for Rapid Bacteria Selection.

Development of efficient screening method coupled with cell functionality evaluation is highly needed in contemporary microbiology. The presented novel concept and fast non-destructive method brings in to play the water spectral pattern of the solution as a molecular fingerprint of the cell culture system. To elucidate the concept, NIR spectroscopy with Aquaphotomics were applied to monitor the growth of sixteen Lactobacillus bulgaricus one Lactobacillus pentosus and one Lactobacillus gasseri bacteria strains. Their growth rate, maximal optical density, low pH and bile tolerances were measured and further used as a reference data for analysis of the simultaneously acquired spectral data. The acquired spectral data in the region of 1100-1850nm was subjected to various multivariate data analyses - PCA, OPLS-DA, PLSR. The results showed high accuracy of bacteria strains classification according to their probiotic strength. Most informative spectral fingerprints covered the first overtone of water, emphasizing the relation of water molecular system to cell functionality.

Detection of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers by near-infrared spectroscopy and aquaphotomics.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes cellular DNA damage, among which cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) are responsible for a variety of genetic mutations. Although several approaches have been developed for detection of CPDs, conventional methods require time-consuming steps. Aquaphotomics, a new approach based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and multivariate analysis that determines interactions between water and other components of the solution, has become an effective method for qualitative and quantitative parameters measurement in the solutions. NIR spectral patterns of UVC-irradiated and nonirradiated DNA solutions were evaluated using aquaphotomics for detection of UV-induced CPDs. Groups of UV-irradiated and nonirradiated DNA samples were classified (87.5% accuracy) by soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). A precise regression model calculated from NIR water spectral patterns based on UVC doses (r Val = 0.9457) and the concentration of cis-syn cyclobutane thymine dimers (cis-syn T<>Ts; r Val = 0.9993) was developed using partial least squares regression (PLSR), while taking advantage of water spectral patterns, particularly around 1400-1500 nm. Our results suggested that, in contrast to DNA, the formation of cis-syn T<>Ts increased the strongly hydrogen bonded water. Additionally, NIRS could qualitatively and quantitatively detect cis-syn T<>Ts in isolated DNA aqueous solutions upon UVC exposure.