Chemometric Authentication of Brazilian Coffees Based on Chemical Profiling

摘要

In this work, different chemometric tools were compared to classify n = 26 conventional (CONV) and n = 19 organic (ORG) coffees from the main Brazilian producing regions based on the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and antioxidant activity. Principal component analysis separated ORG and CONV coffees but the distinction among the producing regions of Brazilian coffee was not possible. Partial least squares discriminant analysis classified all ORG and CONV coffees in the external validation. Similarly, linear discriminant analysis was able to discriminate 100% and 81% of ORG and CONV coffees in the external validation, respectively, in which total phenolic content (TPC), ferric reducing antioxidant activity, and caffeic acid were the main discriminant variables. Overall 100% of samples from Parana, Minas Gerais, and blended samples were correctly classified, where TPC, flavonoids, inhibition of lipid peroxidation, caffeic acid, pH, and soluble solids were the main discriminant variables. Support vector machines classified 95% ORG and 88% CONV, 100% Coffea arabica, and 88% and 78% coffees produced in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. k-Nearest neighbors was effective in distinguishing 100% CONV, 89% ORG, 100% coffees from Sao Paulo, and 100% C. arabica coffees. Overall, HPLC data and simple physicochemical parameters allied to chemometrics were effective in authenticating the cultivation system and the botanical origin of Brazilian coffees.