Determining the contents of protein and amino acids in peanuts using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
BACKGROUND
The protein and amino acid contents of peanuts play a key role in determining their quality and value. Therefore, accurate, nondestructive, quick, and automated measurement of these components would be valuable in a commercial environment. This study explored the feasibility of determining the contents of protein and amino acids in peanuts using near infrared-reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS).


RESULTS
141 peanut samples were collected from 12 provinces in China. The spectra were scanned and obtained with an NIRS system. The determination coefficient and the ratio of the standard deviation in the validation set to the standard error of validation corresponded to 0.99 and 6.53 for protein, 0.88 and 2.52 for Asp, 0.83 and 3.00 for Thr, 0.86 and 2.40 for Ser, 0.87 and 2.57 for Glu, 0.88 and 2.36 for Gly, 0.88 and 3.00 for Leu, 0.89 and 2.88 for Arg, and 0.96 and 7.50 for Cys.


CONCLUSIONS
NIRS combined with multivariate calibration has significant potential in determining the protein and amino acid contents of peanuts. This method is suitable for use in an industrial setting owing to its ease of use as well as the relatively low cost of obtaining and running the necessary equipment.
Institute of Agro-products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Key Laboratory of Agro-product Processing and Quality Control, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China.
Li
L
Wang
Qiang
Q
Wang
Hongzhi
H
Liu
Li
L
Liu
Yin
Y
Du
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D010367:Arachis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002681:China; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*
D000596:Amino Acids; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins