The analysis of oat chemical properties using visible-near infrared spectroscopy

Rapid determination of food quality is important in food distribution. In this study, the chemical properties of oats were analyzed using visible-near infrared (VIS-NIR) spectroscopy. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model of oat quality by VIS-NIR spectroscopy. A total of 200 oat samples were collected from domestic and import markets. Reflectance spectra, moisture, protein, fat, Fe, and K of oat samples were measured. Reflectance spectra were measured in the wavelength range of 400 - 2,500 nm at 2 nm intervals. The reflectance spectrum of an oat sample was measured after sample cell and reflectance plate spectrum measurement. Preprocessing methods such as normalization and $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ derivations were used to minimize the spectroscopic noise. The partial-least-square (PLS) models were developed to predict chemical properties of oats using a commercial software package, Unscrambler. The PLS models showed the possibility to predict moisture, protein, and fat content of oat samples. The coefficient of determination ($R^2$) of moisture, protein, and fat was greater than 0.89. However, it was hard to predict Fe and K concentrations due to their low concentrations in the oat samples. The coefficient of determinations of Fe and K were 0.57 and 0.77, respectively. In future studies, the stability and practicability of these models should be improved by using a high accuracy spectrophotometer and by performing calibrations with a wider range of oat chemicals.