Principal component analysis of biogenic amines and polyphenols in Hungarian wines

Biogenic amines, polyphenols, and resveratrol were analyzed quantitatively in 25 different Hungarian wines from the same wine-making region, harvest of 1998. Polyphenols were determined according to a spectrophotometric method, whereas other substrates were analyzed using overpressured-layer chromatography (OPLC). Principal component analyses (PCA) were performed on data matrices consisting of substrates (columns) and different sorts of wines (rows) from the region of Pécs (southern Hungary). It was found that four (unrotated) principal components account for >80% of the total variance in the data. The plots of component loadings showed significant groupings for concentrations of biogenic amines (and polyphenols). Similarly, the component scores grouped according to the different sorts of wines. The loading plots reveal that there is no need to measure all of the variables to achieve the same characterization. It is enough to measure one variable per group. Naturally, this conclusion is valid only within the limits of the present study; wines from other regions may behave differently.