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This research was supported by project Sensanalog [PID2021-122285OR-I00] funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF/EU. The first author received the grant [PRE2022-103798] funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF + . Acknowledgements are extended to the consolidated research group (2021 SGR 00461) and CERCA program from Generalitat de Catalunya. Elena Fulladosa was supported by a mobility grant within the Incentives for Research Program 2023 by the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) .

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Dos Santos, RAuthorMunoz, IAuthorGou, PAuthorFulladosa, ECorresponding Author

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Compositional analysis of alternative protein blends using near and mid-infrared spectroscopy coupled with conventional and machine learning algorithms

Publicated to:Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular And Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 337 126114- - 2025-09-05 337(), DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2025.126114

Authors: dos Santos, R; Cruz, J; Munoz, I; Gou, P; Nordon, A; Fulladosa, E

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Abstract

The non-invasive real-time analysis of the composition of alternative, plant-based protein sources is important to control high moisture extrusion processes and ensure the quality and texture of the final extrudates used in the elaboration of meat analogues. This study aims to analyse the composition and presence of gluten in blended plant-based alternative protein sources from pulse, cereal and pseudocereal origin by means of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and mid infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) using conventional and machine learning algorithms. Blends were prepared using five alternative protein sources (barley, wheat, fava bean, lupin, and buckwheat) and spectra were acquired using a low-cost and a benchtop near-infrared spectrometer, and a mid-infrared spectrometer. Using the acquired spectra, partial least square regression (PLSR), support vector machine discriminant analysis (SVM-DA), partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and convolutional neural networks (CNN) were used to develop predictive models to determine the composition and to identify samples containing gluten. The protein, moisture, carbohydrates and fat content in blends of alternative protein sources was determined with a RMSEP of 1.59, 0.18, 1.41, and 0.19 %, respectively, when using the benchtop NIR spectrometer and PLSR. Gluten-free samples were identified with high sensitivity (0.85) and accuracy (0.93) using PLS-DA. The study demonstrated that infrared spectroscopy can be used to analyse the composition of blends of alternative protein sources including pulses, cereals, and pseudocereals, as well as to identify gluten-free samples.

Keywords

Atr-ftir spectroscopyChemometricsDesigFlourMachine learningMoistureNear-infrared nirPartial least squaresPlant-based proteinProcess monitoringProximate compositionSecondary structureSelection

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular And Biomolecular Spectroscopy due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 5/44, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Spectroscopy. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-31:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 4 (PlumX).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (dos Santos Ribeiro, Ricardo) and Last Author (FULLADOSA TOMAS, ELENA).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been FULLADOSA TOMAS, ELENA.