Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools

Green banana flour has been gaining prominence as a functional food due to its high nutritional value and health benefits. However, its increasing commercialization has also raised concerns about adulteration, which can compromise both product quality and consumer confidence. In this study, we propo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Silvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior, Paula Mothé Gonçalves, Diego Barros Batista, Aderval S. Luna, Fernanda Nunes Ferreira, Licarion Pinto, Jefferson Santos de Gois
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Chemosensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/4/153
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849711998522097664
author Silvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior
Paula Mothé Gonçalves
Diego Barros Batista
Aderval S. Luna
Fernanda Nunes Ferreira
Licarion Pinto
Jefferson Santos de Gois
author_facet Silvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior
Paula Mothé Gonçalves
Diego Barros Batista
Aderval S. Luna
Fernanda Nunes Ferreira
Licarion Pinto
Jefferson Santos de Gois
author_sort Silvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior
collection DOAJ
description Green banana flour has been gaining prominence as a functional food due to its high nutritional value and health benefits. However, its increasing commercialization has also raised concerns about adulteration, which can compromise both product quality and consumer confidence. In this study, we propose a simple method to detect adulteration in banana flour using ICP-OES combined with chemometric tools. A total of 73 samples, including authentic and adulterated flours, were analyzed for their mineral composition (B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, P, K, Mg, and Na). The limit of detection was determined for all analytes, being 0.005 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Ca), 0.007 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (K), 0.02 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Mg), 0.04 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Na), 0.001 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (P), 3 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (B), 1.4 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Cu), 0.4 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Fe), and 3 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Mn). Applying chemometric techniques, such as Principal Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis, allowed us to distinguish the authentic samples from the adulterated ones clearly. With the help of chemometric tools, it was found that K is a key marker to identify adulteration. The applied techniques demonstrated high precision in detecting adulterations and providing a confidence limit to identify banana flour fraud, proving to be a promising tool for ensuring the authenticity of green banana flour.
format Article
id doaj-art-7fb07c4542b04ecba4fd32d928680ee9
institution DOAJ
issn 2227-9040
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Chemosensors
spelling doaj-art-7fb07c4542b04ecba4fd32d928680ee92025-08-20T03:14:27ZengMDPI AGChemosensors2227-90402025-04-0113415310.3390/chemosensors13040153Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric ToolsSilvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior0Paula Mothé Gonçalves1Diego Barros Batista2Aderval S. Luna3Fernanda Nunes Ferreira4Licarion Pinto5Jefferson Santos de Gois6Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilGraduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilGraduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilGraduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, BrazilGreen banana flour has been gaining prominence as a functional food due to its high nutritional value and health benefits. However, its increasing commercialization has also raised concerns about adulteration, which can compromise both product quality and consumer confidence. In this study, we propose a simple method to detect adulteration in banana flour using ICP-OES combined with chemometric tools. A total of 73 samples, including authentic and adulterated flours, were analyzed for their mineral composition (B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, P, K, Mg, and Na). The limit of detection was determined for all analytes, being 0.005 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Ca), 0.007 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (K), 0.02 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Mg), 0.04 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Na), 0.001 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (P), 3 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (B), 1.4 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Cu), 0.4 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Fe), and 3 µg g<sup>−1</sup> (Mn). Applying chemometric techniques, such as Principal Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis, allowed us to distinguish the authentic samples from the adulterated ones clearly. With the help of chemometric tools, it was found that K is a key marker to identify adulteration. The applied techniques demonstrated high precision in detecting adulterations and providing a confidence limit to identify banana flour fraud, proving to be a promising tool for ensuring the authenticity of green banana flour.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/4/153green banana flouradulterationchemometric analysiselemental profilingfood fraudquality control
spellingShingle Silvio Luiz Fernandes Júnior
Paula Mothé Gonçalves
Diego Barros Batista
Aderval S. Luna
Fernanda Nunes Ferreira
Licarion Pinto
Jefferson Santos de Gois
Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
Chemosensors
green banana flour
adulteration
chemometric analysis
elemental profiling
food fraud
quality control
title Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
title_full Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
title_fullStr Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
title_full_unstemmed Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
title_short Banana Flour Adulteration Key Marker Unravelled by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Assisted by Chemometric Tools
title_sort banana flour adulteration key marker unravelled by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry assisted by chemometric tools
topic green banana flour
adulteration
chemometric analysis
elemental profiling
food fraud
quality control
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/13/4/153
work_keys_str_mv AT silvioluizfernandesjunior bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT paulamothegoncalves bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT diegobarrosbatista bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT adervalsluna bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT fernandanunesferreira bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT licarionpinto bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools
AT jeffersonsantosdegois bananaflouradulterationkeymarkerunravelledbyinductivelycoupledplasmaopticalemissionspectrometryassistedbychemometrictools