Raman spectroscopic detection of carotenoids in cattle skin

Carotenoids, powerful anti-oxidants, play a significant role in protecting the skin from oxidation and help in balancing the redox status of skin. This study was aimed at investigating cattle skin to identify carotenoids in the lower epidermis (grain) and dermis (corium) layers for classification using Raman spectroscopy which is a powerful technique for the detection of carotenoids in cattle skin due to the strong resonance enhancement with 532 nm laser excitation. The spectral differences identified between these two layers were quantified by the univariate analysis of Raman peak heights and partial least squares (PLS) analysis. We compared the performance of the Raman spectroscopy method with the standard method, high performance liquid chromatography. The univariate analysis results demonstrated that the lower epidermis of the skin has a higher concentration of carotenoid than dermis using the carotenoid Raman peaks at 1151 cm^-1 and 1518 cm^-1. The carotenoid Raman intensity was linearly correlated with the total carotenoid concentration determined by standard HPLC methods. Partial Least Squares Regression analysis gives excellent results with R ² = 0.99. Our results indicate that Raman spectroscopy is a potential tool to determine carotenoids in cattle skin with high precision.