Quantitative analysis of LC-PUFAs and Protein Content in Premature infant formula powders by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

Premature infant formula powder (PIFP) contains essential nutrients, such as protein and LC-PUFAs in which inadequate quantities of them may restrict the development of premature infants [1]. The aim of this study was to propose a quantitative analysis for evaluating these nutrients in PIFP. To achieve this purpose, an integrated methodology was developed by combining attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) with the chemometrics. ATR-FTIR was utilized to obtain the PIFP spectra in the wavenumber range of 4000-400 cm-1. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to perform exploratory analysis of the spectra. Partial least square regression (PLSR) and principal component regression (PCR) models were established for normal spectra, first, and second derivatives to quantitatively determine the protein and LC-PUFAs. The results showed that the PLSR model provided a better prediction than the PCR model with the coefficient of determinations (R2) of 0.992 and 0.983 for calibration and validation, respectively. It also offers the best prediction for the PLSR model of protein considering the parameters such as R2 (normal spectra) (Cal: 0.995, Val: 0.981). The results revealed that a combination of the ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and the chemometrics models creates a rapid, inexpensive, and non-destructive method for the quantitative analysis of PIFP.