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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Chromatographic Fingerprinting by Template Matching for Data Collected by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography
Published on: September 2, 2020
Fingerprinting based on gas chromatography-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry and chemometrics to reveal
Araceli Rivera-Pérez1, Roberto Romero-González1, Antonia Garrido Frenich1
1Research Group "Analytical Chemistry of Contaminants", Department of Chemistry and Physics, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agrifood Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), University of Almeria, E-04120 Almeria, Spain.
Abstract:
Thyme is an aromatic herb traditionally used for food purposes due to its organoleptic characteristics and medicinal properties, which is highly susceptible to food fraud. In this study, GC-HRMS-based fingerprinting was applied for the first time to determine the geographical traceability of thyme based on different origins (Spain, Poland, and Morocco), as well as to assess its processing by comparing sterilized vs. non-sterilized thyme. Unsupervised chemometric methods (PCA and HCA) revealed a predominant influence of the geographical origin on thyme fingerprints rather than processing effects. Supervised PLS-DA and OPLS-DA were used for discrimination purposes, revealing high predictive ability for further samples (100%), and allowing the identification of differential compounds (markers). A total of 24 markers were putatively identified (13 metabolites were confirmed) belonging to different classes: monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, alkenylbenzenes, and other miscellaneous compounds. This study outlines the potential of combining untargeted analysis by GC-HRMS with chemometrics for thyme authenticity and traceability.
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