Combined Experimental and Multivariate Model Approaches for Glycoalkaloid Quantification in Tomatoes
Gabriella Tamasi1,2, Alessio Pardini1,2, Riccardo Croce1
1Department of Biotechnology Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, via A. Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 2, 2021
Summary
Rapid quantification of tomato glycoalkaloids like tomatine is crucial for health benefits. New methods using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) offer fast, effective alternatives to traditional chromatography.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Food Science
Background:
- Tomato glycoalkaloids, such as α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine, offer potential health benefits.
- Accurate and rapid quantification methods for these compounds are needed.
- Current chromatographic methods are time-consuming and require extensive sample preparation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop rapid quantification methods for tomato glycoalkaloids.
- To establish calibration models using fast analytical techniques.
- To compare these methods against a reference technique.
Main Methods:
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS) was used as the reference method.
- Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) were employed.
- Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) were used for rapid analysis.
Main Results:
- MLR and PLSR models effectively predicted tomatine content from TGA and ATR-IR data.
- TGA achieved high accuracy (R² = 0.998) with low error (0.11%).
- ATR-IR also showed suitability (R² = 0.840) with low error (0.27%).
Conclusions:
- Thermogravimetric analysis and ATR-IR spectroscopy are effective and rapid techniques for quantifying tomato glycoalkaloids.
- These methods provide a faster alternative to traditional chromatographic techniques.
- The developed models offer a promising approach for routine analysis of tomatine content.
