Molecules

Research

33 pages, 7569 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fingerprinting Chemical Markers in the Mediterranean Orange Blossom Honey: UHPLC-HRMS Metabolomics Study Integrating Melissopalynological Analysis, GC-MS and HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS

by Konstantinos M. Kasiotis, Eirini Baira, Styliani Iosifidou, Electra Manea-Karga, Despina Tsipi, Sofia Gounari, Ioannis Theologidis, Theodora Barmpouni, Pier Paolo Danieli, Filippo Lazzari, Daniele Dipasquale, Sonia Petrarca, Souad Shairra, Naglaa A. Ghazala, Aida A. Abd El-Wahed, Seham M. A. El-Gamal and Kyriaki Machera

Molecules 2023, 28(9), 3967; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28093967 - 8 May 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3893

Abstract

(1) Background: Citrus honey constitutes a unique monofloral honey characterized by a distinctive aroma and unique taste. The non-targeted chemical analysis can provide pivotal information on chemical markers that differentiate honey based on its geographical and botanical origin. (2) Methods: Within the PRIMA [...] Read more.

(1) Background: Citrus honey constitutes a unique monofloral honey characterized by a distinctive aroma and unique taste. The non-targeted chemical analysis can provide pivotal information on chemical markers that differentiate honey based on its geographical and botanical origin. (2) Methods: Within the PRIMA project “PLANT-B”, a metabolomics workflow was established to unveil potential chemical markers of orange blossom honey produced in case study areas of Egypt, Italy, and Greece. In some of these areas, aromatic medicinal plants were cultivated to enhance biodiversity and attract pollinators. The non-targeted chemical analysis and metabolomics were conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). (3) Results: Forty compounds were disclosed as potential chemical markers, enabling the differentiation of the three orange blossom honeys according to geographical origin. Italian honey showed a preponderance of flavonoids, while in Greek honey, terpenoids and iridoids were more abundant than flavonoids, except for hesperidin. In Egyptian honey, suberic acid and a fatty acid ester derivative emerged as chemical markers. New, for honey, furan derivatives were identified using GC-MS in Greek samples. (4) Conclusions: The application of UHPLC-HRMS metabolomics combined with an elaborate melissopalynological analysis managed to unveil several potential markers of Mediterranean citrus honey potentially associated with citrus crop varieties and the local indigenous flora. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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13 pages, 4111 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Hyperspectral Analysis of Thin-Layer Chromatographic Plates—An Application to Fingerprinting of 70 Polish Grasses

by Joanna Wróbel-Szkolak, Anna Cwener and Łukasz Komsta

Molecules 2023, 28(9), 3745; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28093745 - 26 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1659

Abstract

The advantages of hyperspectral imaging in videodensitometry are presented and discussed with the example of extracts from 70 Polish grasses. An inexpensive microscope camera was modified to cover the infrared spectrum range, and then 11 combinations of illumination (254 nm, 366 nm, white [...] Read more.

The advantages of hyperspectral imaging in videodensitometry are presented and discussed with the example of extracts from 70 Polish grasses. An inexpensive microscope camera was modified to cover the infrared spectrum range, and then 11 combinations of illumination (254 nm, 366 nm, white light), together with various filters (no filter, IRCut, UV, cobalt glass, IR pass), were used to register RGB HDR images of the same plate. It was revealed that the resulting 33 channels of information could be compressed into 5–6 principal components and then visualized separately as grayscale images. We also propose a new approach called principal component artificial coloring of images (PCACI). It allows easy classification of chromatographic spots by presenting three PC components as RGB channels, providing vivid spots with artificial colors and visualizing six principal components on two color images. The infrared region brings additional information to the registered data, orthogonal to the other channels and not redundant with photos in the visible region. This is the first published attempt to use a hyperspectral camera in TLC and it can be clearly concluded that such an approach deserves routine use and further attention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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20 pages, 10962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Seawater Intrusion on the Groundwater Quality of Multi-Layered Aquifers in Eastern Saudi Arabia

by Mohammed Benaafi, S. I. Abba and Isam H. Aljundi

Molecules 2023, 28(7), 3173; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28073173 - 3 Apr 2023

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2982

Abstract

The degradation of groundwater (GW) quality due to seawater intrusion (SWI) is a major water security issue in water-scarce regions. This study aims to delineate the impact of SWI on the GW quality of a multilayered aquifer system in the eastern coastal region [...] Read more.

The degradation of groundwater (GW) quality due to seawater intrusion (SWI) is a major water security issue in water-scarce regions. This study aims to delineate the impact of SWI on the GW quality of a multilayered aquifer system in the eastern coastal region of Saudi Arabia. The physical and chemical properties of the GW were determined via field investigations and laboratory analyses. Irrigation indices (electrical conductivity (EC), potential salinity (PS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Na%, Kelly’s ratio (KR), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), and permeability index (PI)) and a SWI index (f_sea) were obtained to assess the suitability of GW for irrigation. K-mean clustering, correlation analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the relationship between irrigation hazard indices and the degree of SWI. The tested GW samples were grouped into four clusters (C1, C2, C3, and C4), with average SWI degrees of 15%, 8%, 5%, and 2%, respectively. The results showed that the tested GW was unsuitable for irrigation due to salinity hazards. However, a noticeable increase in sodium and magnesium hazards was also observed. Moreover, increasing the degree of SWI (f_sea) was associated with increasing salinity, sodium, and magnesium, with higher values observed in the GW samples in cluster C1, followed by clusters C2, C3, and C4. The correlation analysis and PCA results illustrated that the irrigation indices, including EC, PS, SAR, and MAR, were grouped with the SWI index (f_sea), indicating the possibility of using them as primary irrigation indices to reflect the impact of SWI on GW quality in coastal regions. The results of this study will help guide decision-makers toward proper management practices for SWI mitigation and enhancing GW quality for irrigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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11 pages, 1262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multivariate Chemometric Comparison of Forced Degradation and Electrochemical Oxidation LC–MS Profiles of Maraviroc

by Michał Wroński, Jakub Trawiński, Łukasz Komsta and Robert Skibiński

Molecules 2023, 28(3), 1195; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031195 - 25 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1784

Abstract

In this study, nine forced degradation products of maraviroc were found using chemometric analysis. This antiretroviral drug was subjected to photolytic, oxidative, as well as neutral, basic and acidic hydrolysis stress conditions. Additionally, its electrochemical transformation on platinum, gold and glassy carbon screen-printed [...] Read more.

In this study, nine forced degradation products of maraviroc were found using chemometric analysis. This antiretroviral drug was subjected to photolytic, oxidative, as well as neutral, basic and acidic hydrolysis stress conditions. Additionally, its electrochemical transformation on platinum, gold and glassy carbon screen-printed electrodes was examined. This study showed that maraviroc is especially susceptible to UVA, H₂O₂ and electrochemical degradation, while being resistant to neutral and acidic hydrolysis. A cluster analysis showed that the electrochemical transformation, with particular reference to the platinum electrode, is able to partially simulate the forced degradation processes, especially in the context of redox reactions. These findings indicate that the electrochemical methods can be considered as quick and relatively low-cost supplements to the commonly applied forced degradation procedures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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13 pages, 3987 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combination of Total-Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Method and Chemometric Techniques for Provenance Study of Archaeological Ceramics

by Artem S. Maltsev, Nailya N. Umarova, Galina V. Pashkova, Maria M. Mukhamedova, Dmitriy L. Shergin, Vitaly V. Panchuk, Dmitry O. Kirsanov and Elena I. Demonterova

Molecules 2023, 28(3), 1099; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031099 - 21 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2578

Abstract

The provenance study of archaeological materials is an important step in understanding the cultural and economic life of ancient human communities. One of the most popular approaches in provenance studies is to obtain the chemical composition of material and process it with chemometric [...] Read more.

The provenance study of archaeological materials is an important step in understanding the cultural and economic life of ancient human communities. One of the most popular approaches in provenance studies is to obtain the chemical composition of material and process it with chemometric methods. In this paper, we describe a combination of the total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method and chemometric techniques (PCA, k-means cluster analysis, and SVM) to study Neolithic ceramic samples from eastern Siberia (Baikal region). A database of ceramic samples was created and included 10 elements/indicators for classification by geographical origin and ornamentation type. This study shows that PCA cannot be used as the primary method for provenance purposes, but can show some patterns in the data. SVM and k-means cluster analysis classified most of the ceramic samples by archaeological site and type with high accuracy. The application of chemometric techniques also showed the similarity of some samples found at sites located close to each other. A database created and processed by SVM or k-means cluster analysis methods can be supplemented with new samples and automatically classified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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15 pages, 3612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemometric Approach Based on Explainable AI for Rapid Assessment of Macronutrients in Different Organic Fertilizers Using Fusion Spectra

by Mahamed Lamine Guindo, Muhammad Hilal Kabir, Rongqin Chen, Jing Huang, Fei Liu, Xiaolong Li and Hui Fang

Molecules 2023, 28(2), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28020799 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3139

Abstract

Wet chemical methods are usually employed in the analysis of macronutrients such as Potassium (K) and Phosphorus (P) and followed by traditional sensor techniques, including inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry [...] Read more.

Wet chemical methods are usually employed in the analysis of macronutrients such as Potassium (K) and Phosphorus (P) and followed by traditional sensor techniques, including inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Although these procedures have been established for many years, they are costly, time-consuming, and challenging to follow. This study studied the combination of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIR) for the quick detection of PK in different varieties of organic fertilizers. Explainable AI (XAI) through Shapley additive explanation values computation (Shap values) was used to extract the valuable features of both sensors. The characteristic variables from different spectroscopic devices were combined to form the spectra fusion. Then, PK was determined using Support Vector Regression (SVR), Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), and Extremely Randomized Trees (Extratrees) models. The computation of the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean squared error (RMSE), and residual prediction deviation (RPD) showed that FUSION was more efficient in detecting P (R²p = 0.9946, RMSEp = 0.0649% and RPD = 13.26) and K (R²p = 0.9976, RMSEp = 0.0508% and RPD = 20.28) than single-sensor detection. The outcomes indicated that the features extracted by XAI and the data fusion of LIBS and Vis-NIR could improve the prediction of PK in different varieties of organic fertilizers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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17 pages, 4659 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Volatile Profiling of Magnolia champaca Accessions by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Chemometrics

by Chiranjibi Sahoo, Bibhuti Bhusan Champati, Biswabhusan Dash, Sudipta Jena, Asit Ray, Pratap Chandra Panda, Sanghamitra Nayak and Ambika Sahoo

Molecules 2022, 27(21), 7302; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27217302 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3028

Abstract

Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre of family Magnoliaceae, is a perennial tree with aromatic, ethnobotanical, and medicinal uses. The M. champaca leaf is reported to have a myriad of therapeutic activities, however, there are limited reports available on the chemical composition of [...] Read more.

Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre of family Magnoliaceae, is a perennial tree with aromatic, ethnobotanical, and medicinal uses. The M. champaca leaf is reported to have a myriad of therapeutic activities, however, there are limited reports available on the chemical composition of the leaf essential oil of M. champaca. The present study explored the variation in the yield and chemical composition of leaf essential oil isolated from 52 accessions of M. champaca. Through hydrodistillation, essential oil yield was obtained, varied in the range of 0.06 ± 0.003% and 0.31 ± 0.015% (v/w) on a fresh weight basis. GC-MS analysis identified a total of 65 phytoconstituents accounting for 90.23 to 98.90% of the total oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (52.83 to 65.63%) constituted the major fraction followed by sesquiterpene alcohols (14.71 to 22.45%). The essential oils were found to be rich in β-elemene (6.64 to 38.80%), γ-muurolene (4.63 to 22.50%), and β-caryophyllene (1.10 to 20.74%). Chemometrics analyses such as PCA, PLS-DA, sPLS-DA, and cluster analyses such as hierarchical clustering, i.e., dendrogram and partitional clustering, i.e., K-means classified the essential oils of M. champaca populations into three different chemotypes: chemotype I (β-elemene), chemotype II (γ-muurolene) and chemotype III (β-caryophyllene). The chemical polymorphism analyzed in the studied populations would facilitate the selection of chemotypes with specific compounds. The chemotypes identified in the M. champaca populations could be developed as promising bio-resources for conservation and pharmaceutical application and further improvement of the taxa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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22 pages, 9281 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Hydrogeological, Hydrochemical, and Isotopic Assessment of Seawater Intrusion into Coastal Aquifers in Al-Qatif Area, Eastern Saudi Arabia

by Mohammed Benaafi, Bassam Tawabini, S. I. Abba, John D. Humphrey, Ahmed M. AL-Areeq, Saad A. Alhulaibi, A. G. Usman and Isam H. Aljundi

Molecules 2022, 27(20), 6841; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27206841 - 12 Oct 2022

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3461

Abstract

Seawater intrusion (SWI) is the main threat to fresh groundwater (GW) resources in coastal regions worldwide. Early identification and delineation of such threats can help decision-makers plan for suitable management measures to protect water resources for coastal communities. This study assesses seawater intrusion [...] Read more.

Seawater intrusion (SWI) is the main threat to fresh groundwater (GW) resources in coastal regions worldwide. Early identification and delineation of such threats can help decision-makers plan for suitable management measures to protect water resources for coastal communities. This study assesses seawater intrusion (SWI) and GW salinization of the shallow and deep coastal aquifers in the Al-Qatif area, in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Field hydrogeological and hydrochemical investigations coupled with laboratory-based hydrochemical and isotopic analyses (¹⁸O and ²H) were used in this integrated study. Hydrochemical facies diagrams, ionic ratio diagrams, and spatial distribution maps of GW physical and chemical parameters (EC, TDS, Cl⁻, Br⁻), and seawater fraction (f_sw) were generated to depict the lateral extent of SWI. Hydrochemical facies diagrams were mainly used for GW salinization source identification. The results show that the shallow GW is of brackish and saline types with EC, TDS, Cl⁻, Br⁻ concentration, and an increasing f_sw trend seaward, indicating more influence of SWI on shallow GW wells located close to the shoreline. On the contrary, deep GW shows low f_sw and EC, TDS, Cl⁻, and Br⁻, indicating less influence of SWI on GW chemistry. Moreover, the shallow GW is enriched in ¹⁸O and ²H isotopes compared with the deep GW, which reveals mixing with recent water. In conclusion, the reduction in GW abstraction in the central part of the study area raised the average GW level by three meters. Therefore, to protect the deep GW from SWI and salinity pollution, it is recommended to implement such management practices in the entire region. In addition, continuous monitoring of deep GW is recommended to provide decision-makers with sufficient data to plan for the protection of coastal freshwater resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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14 pages, 2085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect-Directed Profiling of Strawberry Varieties and Breeding Materials via Planar Chromatography and Chemometrics

by Petar Ristivojević, Nevena Lekić, Ilija Cvijetić, Đurđa Krstić, Filip Andrić, Dušanka Milojković-Opsenica and Gertrud E. Morlock

Molecules 2022, 27(18), 6062; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27186062 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2452

Abstract

Strawberries are an important fruit in the European diet because of their unique taste and high content of essential nutrients and bioactive compounds. The anthocyanins are known to be colorful phenolics in strawberries. In 17 samples of six strawberry cultivars produced in Serbia, [...] Read more.

Strawberries are an important fruit in the European diet because of their unique taste and high content of essential nutrients and bioactive compounds. The anthocyanins are known to be colorful phenolics in strawberries. In 17 samples of six strawberry cultivars produced in Serbia, i.e., the common varieties Alba, Asia, and Clery as well as promising breeding materials (11.29.11, 11.34.6, and 11.39.3), the anthocyanin profile as well as antimicrobial and antioxidative activity profiles were determined. All investigated extracts showed antioxidative and antibacterial activities against Gram-negative Aliivibrio fischeri. The responses were quite similar in number and intensity. The HPTLC-DPPH• scavenging assay and HPTLC-Aliivibrio fischeri bioassay coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry identified pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside (Pg-3-glc) as the main anthocyanin and prominent antioxidative and antimicrobial compound in strawberries. The density functional theory calculations at the M06-2X/6-31+G(d,p) level showed that Pg-3-glc quenches free radicals via sequential proton loss electron transfer mechanism in water and in pentyl ethanoate, where the 5-OH group is the most reactive site for proton and hydrogen atom transfer. The results were confirmed via spectrophotometry. The highest total phenolic content was found in Clery and 11.39.3, while statistically significant differences between the genotypes regarding the antioxidant activity were not confirmed. Although very similar in the anthocyanin, antioxidative, and antimicrobial profile patterns, the strawberry genotypes were successfully classified using principal component analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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16 pages, 2464 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Multi-Task Neural Networks and Molecular Fingerprints to Enhance Compound Identification from LC-MS/MS Data

by Viviana Consonni, Fabio Gosetti, Veronica Termopoli, Roberto Todeschini, Cecile Valsecchi and Davide Ballabio

Molecules 2022, 27(18), 5827; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27185827 - 8 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3463

Abstract

Mass spectrometry (MS) is widely used for the identification of chemical compounds by matching the experimentally acquired mass spectrum against a database of reference spectra. However, this approach suffers from a limited coverage of the existing databases causing a failure in the identification [...] Read more.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is widely used for the identification of chemical compounds by matching the experimentally acquired mass spectrum against a database of reference spectra. However, this approach suffers from a limited coverage of the existing databases causing a failure in the identification of a compound not present in the database. Among the computational approaches for mining metabolite structures based on MS data, one option is to predict molecular fingerprints from the mass spectra by means of chemometric strategies and then use them to screen compound libraries. This can be carried out by calibrating multi-task artificial neural networks from large datasets of mass spectra, used as inputs, and molecular fingerprints as outputs. In this study, we prepared a large LC-MS/MS dataset from an on-line open repository. These data were used to train and evaluate deep-learning-based approaches to predict molecular fingerprints and retrieve the structure of unknown compounds from their LC-MS/MS spectra. Effects of data sparseness and the impact of different strategies of data curing and dimensionality reduction on the output accuracy have been evaluated. Moreover, extensive diagnostics have been carried out to evaluate modelling advantages and drawbacks as a function of the explored chemical space. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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19 pages, 3749 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quality Evaluation of Tetrastigmae Radix from Two Different Habitats Based on Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Bioactive Constituents Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

by Haijie Chen, Yongyi Zhou, Jia Xue, Jiahuan Yuan, Zhichen Cai, Nan Wu, Lisi Zou, Shengxin Yin, Wei Yang, Xunhong Liu, Jianming Cheng and Li Tang

Molecules 2022, 27(15), 4813; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27154813 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2157

Abstract

Tetrastigmae Radix, also known as Sanyeqing (SYQ) in Chinese, is an important traditional Chinese medicine with a long history. Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg mainly grows in the south of the Yangtze River and is widely distributed. The content of bioactive constituents in [...] Read more.

Tetrastigmae Radix, also known as Sanyeqing (SYQ) in Chinese, is an important traditional Chinese medicine with a long history. Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg mainly grows in the south of the Yangtze River and is widely distributed. The content of bioactive constituents in SYQ varies greatly in different habitats, and there are obvious differences in the content of bioactive constituents between southwestern SYQ (WS) and southeastern SYQ (ES). To distinguish and evaluate the quality of ES and WS, an analytical method based on ultrafast performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) was established for the simultaneous determination of 60 constituents including 25 flavonoids, 9 phenolic acids, 15 amino acids, and 11 nucleosides in 47 samples from ES and WS. In addition, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), t-test, and gray correlation analysis (GRA) were used to discriminate and evaluate the ES and WS samples based on the contents of 60 constituents. The results showed that there were significant differences in the bioactive constituents between ES and WS, and ES was superior to WS in terms of quality evaluation. This study not only provides basic information for differentiating ES and WS but also provides a new perspective for the comprehensive evaluation and quality control of SYQ from two different habitats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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12 pages, 1758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Discrimination and Prediction of Lonicerae japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos and Their Related Prescriptions by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

by Yang-Qiannan Tang, Li Li, Tian-Feng Lin, Li-Mei Lin, Ya-Mei Li and Bo-Hou Xia

Molecules 2022, 27(14), 4640; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27144640 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2115

Abstract

LJF and LF are commonly used in Chinese patent drugs. In the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, LJF and LF once belonged to the same source. However, since 2005, the two species have been listed separately. Therefore, they are often misused, and medicinal materials are [...] Read more.

LJF and LF are commonly used in Chinese patent drugs. In the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, LJF and LF once belonged to the same source. However, since 2005, the two species have been listed separately. Therefore, they are often misused, and medicinal materials are indiscriminately put in their related prescriptions in China. In this work, firstly, we established a model for discriminating LJF and LF using ATR-FTIR combined with multivariate statistical analysis. The spectra data were further preprocessed and combined with spectral filter transformations and normalization methods. These pretreated data were used to establish pattern recognition models with PLS-DA, RF, and SVM. Results demonstrated that the RF model was the optimal model, and the overall classification accuracy for LJF and LF samples reached 98.86%. Then, the established model was applied in the discrimination of their related prescriptions. Interestingly, the results show good accuracy and applicability. The RF model for discriminating the related prescriptions containing LJF or LF had an accuracy of 100%. Our results suggest that this method is a rapid and effective tool for the successful discrimination of LJF and LF and their related prescriptions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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21 pages, 5150 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Qualitative Analysis and Componential Differences of Chemical Constituents in Lysimachiae Herba from Different Habitats (Sichuan Basin) by UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS

by Yongyi Zhou, Haijie Chen, Jia Xue, Jiahuan Yuan, Zhichen Cai, Nan Wu, Lisi Zou, Shengxin Yin, Wei Yang, Xunhong Liu, Jianming Chen and Fushuangshuang Liu

Molecules 2022, 27(14), 4600; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27144600 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2559

Abstract

Lysimachiae Herba (LH), called Jinqiancao in Chinese, is an authentic medical herb in Sichuan Province often used in the prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, in recent years, there has been a lack of comprehensive research on its chemical components. In addition, [...] Read more.

Lysimachiae Herba (LH), called Jinqiancao in Chinese, is an authentic medical herb in Sichuan Province often used in the prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, in recent years, there has been a lack of comprehensive research on its chemical components. In addition, the landform of Sichuan Province varies greatly from east to west and the terrain is complex and diverse, which has an important influence on the chemical constituents in LH. In this study, ultrafast liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-triple TOF-MS/MS) was used to analyze the samples of LH from eight different habitats in Sichuan Basin. The constituents were identified according to the precise molecular weight, the fragment ions of each chromatographic peak and the retention time of the compound obtained by high-resolution mass spectrometry, combined with software database searches, standard comparisons and the related literature. Differential chemical constituents were screened using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and t-tests. The results showed that a total of 46 constituents were identified and inferred, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids, tannins, fatty acids and coumarins; the fragmentation pathways of the main constituents were preliminarily deduced. According to the variable importance in projection (VIP) and p-values, four common differential constituents were screened out, 2-O-galloylgalactaric acid, quercetin 3-O-xylosyl-rutinoside, nicotiflorin and kaempferol 3-rutinosyl 7-O-alpha-l-rhamnoside. This study provides basic information for the establishment of a comprehensive quality evaluation system for LH. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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16 pages, 4383 KiB

Open AccessArticle

DSC, FT-IR and NIR with Chemometric Assessment Using PCA and HCA for Estimation of the Chemical Stability of Oral Antidiabetic Drug Linagliptin in the Presence of Pharmaceutical Excipients

by Anna Gumieniczek, Anna Berecka-Rycerz, Hanna Trębacz, Angelika Barzycka, Edyta Leyk and Marek Wesolowski

Molecules 2022, 27(13), 4283; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134283 - 3 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3342

Abstract

Pharmaceutical excipients should not interact with active substances, however, in practice, they sometimes do it, affecting the efficacy, stability and safety of drugs. Thus, interactions between active substances and excipients are not desirable. For this reason, two component mixtures of oral antidiabetic drug [...] Read more.

Pharmaceutical excipients should not interact with active substances, however, in practice, they sometimes do it, affecting the efficacy, stability and safety of drugs. Thus, interactions between active substances and excipients are not desirable. For this reason, two component mixtures of oral antidiabetic drug linagliptin (LINA) with four excipients of different reactivity, i.e., lactose (LAC), mannitol (MAN), magnesium stearate (MGS) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), were prepared in a solid state. A high temperature and a high humidity of 60 °C and 70% RH, respectively, were applied as stressors in order to accelerate the potential interactions between LINA and excipients. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy were used to estimate the changes due to potential interactions. In addition, chemometric computation of the data with principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was applied to adequately interpret the findings. Of the excipients used in the present experiment, all of them were not inert in relation to LINA. Some of the interactions were shown without any stressing, whereas others were observed under high-temperature/high-humidity conditions. Thus, it could be concluded that selection of appropriate excipients for LINA is very important question to minimize its degradation, especially when new types of formulations with LINA are being developed and manufactured. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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19 pages, 8243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geochemical and Spatial Distribution of Topsoil HMs Coupled with Modeling of Cr Using Chemometrics Intelligent Techniques: Case Study from Dammam Area, Saudi Arabia

by Mohamed A. Yassin, Bassam Tawabini, Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani, John Adedapo Adetoro, Mohammed Benaafi, Ahmed M. AL-Areeq, A. G. Usman and S. I. Abba

Molecules 2022, 27(13), 4220; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134220 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2602

Abstract

Unconsolidated earthen surface materials can retain heavy metals originating from different sources. These metals are dangerous to humans as well as the immediate environment. This danger leads to the need to assess various geochemical conditions of the materials. In this study, the assessment [...] Read more.

Unconsolidated earthen surface materials can retain heavy metals originating from different sources. These metals are dangerous to humans as well as the immediate environment. This danger leads to the need to assess various geochemical conditions of the materials. In this study, the assessment of topsoil materials’ contamination with heavy metals (HMs) was conducted. The material’s representative spatial samples were taken from various sources: agricultural, industrial, and residential areas. The materials include topsoil, eolian deposits, and other unconsolidated earthen materials. The samples were analyzed using the ICP-OES. The obtained results based on the experimental procedure indicated that the average levels of the heavy metals were: As (1.21 ± 0.69 mg/kg), Ba (110.62 ± 262 mg/kg), Hg (0.08 ± 0.18 mg/kg), Pb (6.34 ± 14.55 mg/kg), Ni (8.95 ± 5.66 mg/kg), V (9.98 ± 6.08 mg/kg), Cd (1.18 ± 4.33 mg/kg), Cr (31.79 ± 37.9 mg/kg), Cu (6.76 ± 12.54 mg/kg), and Zn (23.44 ± 84.43 mg/kg). Subsequently, chemometrics modeling and a prediction of Cr concentration (mg/kg) were performed using three different modeling techniques, including two artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, namely, generalized neural network (GRNN) and Elman neural network (Elm NN) models, as well as a classical multivariate statistical technique (MST). The results indicated that the AI-based models have a superior ability in estimating the Cr concentration (mg/kg) than MST, whereby GRNN can enhance the performance of MST up to 94.6% in the validation step. The concentration levels of most metals were found to be within the acceptable range. The findings indicate that AI-based models are cost-effective and efficient tools for trace metal estimations from soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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16 pages, 2995 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantification of Salicylates and Flavonoids in Poplar Bark and Leaves Based on IR, NIR, and Raman Spectra

by Sylwester Mazurek, Maciej Włodarczyk, Sonia Pielorz, Piotr Okińczyc, Piotr M. Kuś, Gabriela Długosz, Diana Vidal-Yañez and Roman Szostak

Molecules 2022, 27(12), 3954; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27123954 - 20 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2770

Abstract

Poplar bark and leaves can be an attractive source of salicylates and other biologically active compounds used in medicine. However, the biochemical variability of poplar material requires a standardization prior to processing. The official analytical protocols used in the pharmaceutical industry rely on [...] Read more.

Poplar bark and leaves can be an attractive source of salicylates and other biologically active compounds used in medicine. However, the biochemical variability of poplar material requires a standardization prior to processing. The official analytical protocols used in the pharmaceutical industry rely on the extraction of active compounds, which makes their determination long and costly. An analysis of plant materials in their native state can be performed using vibrational spectroscopy. This paper presents for the first time a comparison of diffuse reflectance in the near- and mid-infrared regions, attenuated total reflection, and Raman spectroscopy used for the simultaneous determination of salicylates and flavonoids in poplar bark and leaves. Based on 185 spectra of various poplar species and hybrid powdered samples, partial least squares regression models, characterized by the relative standard errors of prediction in the 4.5–9.9% range for both calibration and validation sets, were developed. These models allow for fast and precise quantification of the studied active compounds in poplar bark and leaves without any chemical sample treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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15 pages, 2234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Destructive Analysis of Chlorpheniramine Maleate Tablets and Granules by Chemometrics-Assisted Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy

by Chutima Phechkrajang, Putthiporn Khongkaew, Waree Limwikrant and Montree Jaturanpinyo

Molecules 2022, 27(12), 3760; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27123760 - 10 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2666

Abstract

Non-destructive analysis of chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM), pharmaceutical tablets, and granules was conducted by chemometrics-assisted attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). For tablets, an optimum PLSR model with eight latent factors was obtained from area-normalized and standard normal variate (SNV) pretreated ATR-IR spectral data [...] Read more.

Non-destructive analysis of chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM), pharmaceutical tablets, and granules was conducted by chemometrics-assisted attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). For tablets, an optimum PLSR model with eight latent factors was obtained from area-normalized and standard normal variate (SNV) pretreated ATR-IR spectral data with correlation coefficients (R²) of calibration and cross-validation of 0.9716 and 0.9602, respectively. The model capability for the 42 test set samples was proven with R² between the reference and model prediction values of 0.9632, and a root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 1.7786. The successive PLSR model for granules was constructed from SNV and first derivative pretreated ATR-IR spectral data with two latent factors and correlation coefficients (R²) of calibration and cross-validation of 0.9577 and 0.9450, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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13 pages, 2674 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analytical Performance and Greenness Evaluation of Five Multi-Level Design Models Utilized for Impurity Profiling of Favipiravir, a Promising COVID-19 Antiviral Drug

by Adel Ehab Ibrahim, Yasmine Ahmed Sharaf, Sami El Deeb and Rania Adel Sayed

Molecules 2022, 27(12), 3658; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27123658 - 7 Jun 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2582

Abstract

In 2018, the discovery of carcinogenic nitrosamine process related impurities (PRIs) in a group of widely used drugs led to the recall and complete withdrawal of several medications that were consumed for a long time, unaware of the presence of these genotoxic PRIs. [...] Read more.

In 2018, the discovery of carcinogenic nitrosamine process related impurities (PRIs) in a group of widely used drugs led to the recall and complete withdrawal of several medications that were consumed for a long time, unaware of the presence of these genotoxic PRIs. Since then, PRIs that arise during the manufacturing process of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), together with their degradation impurities, have gained the attention of analytical chemistry researchers. In 2020, favipiravir (FVR) was found to have an effective antiviral activity against the SARS-COVID-19 virus. Therefore, it was included in the COVID-19 treatment protocols and was consequently globally manufactured at large-scales during the pandemic. There is information indigence about FVR impurity profiling, and until now, no method has been reported for the simultaneous determination of FVR together with its PRIs. In this study, five advanced multi-level design models were developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of FVR and two PRIs, namely; (6-chloro-3-hydroxypyrazine-2-carboxamide) and (3,6-dichloro-pyrazine-2-carbonitrile). The five developed models were classical least square (CLS), principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS), genetic algorithm-partial least squares (GA-PLS), and artificial neural networks (ANN). Five concentration levels of each compound, chosen according to the linearity range of the target analytes, were used to construct a five-level, three-factor chemometric design, giving rise to twenty-five mixtures. The models resolved the strong spectral overlap in the UV-spectra of the FVR and its PRIs. The PCR and PLS models exhibited the best performances, while PLS proved the highest sensitivity relative to the other models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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16 pages, 2546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deep Learning-Based Method for Compound Identification in NMR Spectra of Mixtures

by Weiwei Wei, Yuxuan Liao, Yufei Wang, Shaoqi Wang, Wen Du, Hongmei Lu, Bo Kong, Huawu Yang and Zhimin Zhang

Molecules 2022, 27(12), 3653; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27123653 - 7 Jun 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7397

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is highly unbiased and reproducible, which provides us a powerful tool to analyze mixtures consisting of small molecules. However, the compound identification in NMR spectra of mixtures is highly challenging because of chemical shift variations of the same [...] Read more.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is highly unbiased and reproducible, which provides us a powerful tool to analyze mixtures consisting of small molecules. However, the compound identification in NMR spectra of mixtures is highly challenging because of chemical shift variations of the same compound in different mixtures and peak overlapping among molecules. Here, we present a pseudo-Siamese convolutional neural network method (pSCNN) to identify compounds in mixtures for NMR spectroscopy. A data augmentation method was implemented for the superposition of several NMR spectra sampled from a spectral database with random noises. The augmented dataset was split and used to train, validate and test the pSCNN model. Two experimental NMR datasets (flavor mixtures and additional flavor mixture) were acquired to benchmark its performance in real applications. The results show that the proposed method can achieve good performances in the augmented test set (ACC = 99.80%, TPR = 99.70% and FPR = 0.10%), the flavor mixtures dataset (ACC = 97.62%, TPR = 96.44% and FPR = 2.29%) and the additional flavor mixture dataset (ACC = 91.67%, TPR = 100.00% and FPR = 10.53%). We have demonstrated that the translational invariance of convolutional neural networks can solve the chemical shift variation problem in NMR spectra. In summary, pSCNN is an off-the-shelf method to identify compounds in mixtures for NMR spectroscopy because of its accuracy in compound identification and robustness to chemical shift variation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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14 pages, 438 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Statistical FT-IR Spectroscopy for the Characterization of 17 Vegetable Oils

by Meta Kokalj Ladan and Nina Kočevar Glavač

Molecules 2022, 27(10), 3190; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27103190 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3447

Abstract

Vegetable oils have been utilized for centuries in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, and they contribute beneficially to overall human health, to active skincare, and to effective treatments. Monitoring of the vegetable oils is carried out by the methods described in the [...] Read more.

Vegetable oils have been utilized for centuries in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, and they contribute beneficially to overall human health, to active skincare, and to effective treatments. Monitoring of the vegetable oils is carried out by the methods described in the European Pharmacopeia, which is time-consuming, has poor repeatability, and involves the use of toxic organic chemicals and expensive laboratory equipment. Many successful studies using IR spectroscopy have been carried out for the detection of geographical origin and adulteration as well as quantification of oxidation parameters. The aim of our research was to explore FT-IR spectroscopy for assessing the quality parameters and fatty acid composition of cranberry, elderberry, borage, blackcurrant, raspberry, black mustard, walnut, sea buckthorn, evening primrose, rosehip, chia, perilla, black cumin, sacha inchi, kiwi, hemp, and linseed oil. Very good models were obtained for the α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid contents, with R² = 1.00; R_v² values of 0.98, 0.92, 0.89, and 0.84 were obtained for iodine value prediction, stearic acid content, palmitic acid content, and unsaponifiable matter content, respectively. However, we were not able to obtain good models for all parameters, and the use of the same process for variable selection was found to be not suitable for all cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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16 pages, 3195 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Invasive Detection of Anti-Inflammatory Bioactivity and Key Chemical Indicators of the Commercial Lanqin Oral Solution by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

by Hui Ma, Lulu Xiao, Dongchen Xu, Yingrui Geng, Xuesong Liu, Yong Chen and Yongjiang Wu

Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2955; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092955 - 5 May 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2273

Abstract

Quality control methods of current traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation is time-consuming and difficult to assess in terms of overall efficiency of the drug. A non-destructive rapid near-infrared spectroscopy detection system for key chemical components and biological activity of Lanqin oral solution (LOS), [...] Read more.

Quality control methods of current traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation is time-consuming and difficult to assess in terms of overall efficiency of the drug. A non-destructive rapid near-infrared spectroscopy detection system for key chemical components and biological activity of Lanqin oral solution (LOS), one of the best-selling TCM formulations, was established for comprehensive quality evaluation. Near infrared spectral scanning was carried out on 101 batches of commercial LOS under the penetrated vial state and traditional state. RAW 264.7 cells were cultured to detect the anti-inflammatory ability of LOS, and the reference concentrations of epigoitrin, geniposide, and baicalin were obtained by HPLC. The quantitative models were optimized by three kinds of variable selection methods. The correlation coefficients of prediction value of the models were greater than 0.94. The system also passed the external validation. The performance of the non-invasive models was similar to the traditional models. The established non-destructive system can be applied to the rapid quality inspection of LOS to avoid unqualified drugs from entering the market and ensure drug effectiveness. The biological activity index of LOS was introduced and predicted by NIRs for the first time, which provides a new idea about the quality control of TCM formulations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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22 pages, 1567 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Metabolite Fingerprinting of Four Different Cinnamon Species Analyzed via UPLC–MS and GC–MS and Chemometric Tools

by Mohamed A. Farag, Eman M. Kabbash, Ahmed Mediani, Stefanie Döll, Tuba Esatbeyoglu and Sherif M. Afifi

Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2935; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092935 - 4 May 2022

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 4796

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess metabolites heterogeneity among four major Cinnamomum species, including true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) and less explored species (C. cassia, C. iners, and C. tamala). UPLC-MS led to the annotation of 74 secondary [...] Read more.

The present study aimed to assess metabolites heterogeneity among four major Cinnamomum species, including true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) and less explored species (C. cassia, C. iners, and C. tamala). UPLC-MS led to the annotation of 74 secondary metabolites belonging to different classes, including phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, and lignans. A new proanthocyanidin was identified for the first time in C. tamala, along with several glycosylated flavonoid and dicarboxylic fatty acids reported for the first time in cinnamon. Multivariate data analyses revealed, for cinnamates, an abundance in C. verum versus procyandins, dihydro-coumaroylglycosides, and coumarin in C. cassia. A total of 51 primary metabolites were detected using GC-MS analysis encompassing different classes, viz. sugars, fatty acids, and sugar alcohols, with true cinnamon from Malaysia suggested as a good sugar source for diabetic patients. Glycerol in C. tamala, erythritol in C. iners, and glucose and fructose in C. verum from Malaysia were major metabolites contributing to the discrimination among species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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14 pages, 3034 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of a Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network for the Prediction and Optimization of the Andrographolide Content in Andrographis paniculata

by Bibhuti Bhusan Champati, Bhuban Mohan Padhiari, Asit Ray, Tarun Halder, Sudipta Jena, Ambika Sahoo, Basudeba Kar, Pradeep Kumar Kamila, Pratap Chandra Panda, Biswajit Ghosh and Sanghamitra Nayak

Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2765; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092765 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2908

Abstract

Andrographolide, the principal secondary metabolite of Andrographis paniculata, displays a wide spectrum of medicinal activities. The content of andrographolide varies significantly in the species collected from different geographical regions. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the role of different abiotic factors and [...] Read more.

Andrographolide, the principal secondary metabolite of Andrographis paniculata, displays a wide spectrum of medicinal activities. The content of andrographolide varies significantly in the species collected from different geographical regions. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the role of different abiotic factors and selecting suitable sites for the cultivation of A. paniculata with high andrographolide content using a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLP-ANN) approach. A total of 150 accessions of A. paniculata collected from different regions of Odisha and West Bengal in eastern India showed a variation in andrographolide content in the range of 0.28–5.45% on a dry weight basis. The MLP-ANN was trained using climatic factors and soil nutrients as the input layer and the andrographolide content as the output layer. The best topological ANN architecture, consisting of 14 input neurons, 12 hidden neurons, and 1 output neuron, could predict the andrographolide content with 90% accuracy. The developed ANN model showed good predictive performance with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.9716 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.18. The global sensitivity analysis revealed nitrogen followed by phosphorus and potassium as the predominant input variables influencing the andrographolide content. The andrographolide content could be increased from 3.38% to 4.90% by optimizing these sensitive factors. The result showed that the ANN approach is reliable for the prediction of suitable sites for the optimum andrographolide yield in A. paniculata. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry)

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