Multi-product calibration model for soluble solids and water content quantification in Cucurbitaceae family, using visible/near-infrared spectroscopy

Latest studies on Vis/NIR research mostly focused on particular products. Developing a model for a specific product is costly and laborious. This study utilized visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy to evaluate the quality attributes of six products of the Cucurbitaceae family, with a single estimation model, rather than individually. The study made use of six intact products, zucchini, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, melon, chayote, and cucumber. Subsequently, the multi-product models for soluble solids content (SSC) and water content were created using partial least squares regression (PLSR) method. The PLSR modeling produced satisfactory results, the coefficient of determination in calibration set (R(2)c) was discovered to be 0.95 and 0.92, while the root mean squares error of calibration (RMSEC) was found to be 0.41 and 0.61, for SSC and water content, respectively. These models were able to accurately predict the unknown samples with coefficient of determination in prediction set (R(2)p) of 0.96 and 0.92, as well as root mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.32 and 0.58, while the ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD) was found to be 5.68 and 3.69 for SSC and water content, respectively. This shows Vis/NIR spectroscopy was able to quantify the SSC and water content of six products of Cucurbitaceae family, using a single model.