Combined Application of Fourier-transform Infrared, Second Derivative Infrared, and Two-dimensional Correlation Infrared Spectroscopy to Monitor the Quality of Dendrobium Huoshanense During Processing

The objective of this study was to develop a multi-steps infrared macro-fingerprint method to discriminate Dendrobium huoshanense “Fengdou” (DHS FD) produced under different toasting and soaking conditions as well as to examine the effect of production conditions on the total polyphenol content, total water soluble polysaccharide content, and antioxidant activities. The results showed that though the Fourier transform infrared and second derivative infrared (SD-IR) spectra of the DHS FD processed under different conditions were similar visually, the DHS FDs could be discriminated by their characteristic peaks in the range of 1800–600 cm^–1 from their IR and SD-IR files and the cross-peaks in the region of 1280–950 cm^–1 in their two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy IR spectra. The total polyphenol content increased and the total water soluble polysaccharide content decreased in the DHS FDs toasted at temperatures from 110°C to 190°C for 30 min. Soaking process showed variable effects on the total polyphenol content and total water soluble polysaccharide content. The total polyphenol content of the DHS FDs toasted below 150°C increased as the soaking temperatures increased while the total water soluble polysaccharide content showed an opposite trend. Both the total polyphenol content and total water soluble polysaccharide content of the DHS FDs toasted at 170°C and 190°C showed little difference when soaking temperatures varied from 4°C to 100°C. The investigation of the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl cleaving activity revealed that toasting and soaking process might increase the antioxidant activity of the DHS while too high toasting temperatures would decrease their activity. The multi-steps infrared macro-fingerprint analysis with high resolution and excellent macroscopic fingerprint features could effectively discriminate the DHS produced under different conditions without involving any separation and extraction. Consequently, the use of this method is recommended for quality control of the DHS FD.