BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF THE BOTTLE GOURD (Lagenaria siceraria) FRUIT BY NONDESTRUCTIVE FOURIER TRANSFORM RAMAN AND ATTENUATED TOTAL REFLECTANCE FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

In this study, FT (Fourier Transform) Raman and ATR FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy has been used as an emerging quality control tool to investigate the biochemical composition and changes in their content in different parts of the nutrient rich vegetable Lagenaria siceraria. The natural biological materials as edible vegetables are very complex in terms of their chemical composition and intermolecular interactions that occur between the different biochemicals present in the tissue matrix. The biochemical interaction depends upon the morphology and individual molecular structures of the biochemicals. This complexity appears in the vibrational spectra, investigated by optical phenomenon based technique.

This study framed to evaluate the biochemicals and their distribution present in the different parts of the Lagenaria siceraria fruit using Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy (FT-Raman) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR spectroscopy).

Materials and Method: The FT-Raman and ATR-FTIR spectra of the different parts (exocarp, mesocarp and seed) of the Lagenaria siceraria fruit have been recorded in the spectral region of 400-4000cm-1at a resolution of 4cm-1.The Origin 8.0 software package was used for the baseline correction of the non-linear spectra, spectral interpretation and the quantitative analyses. Curve fitting was applied for the evaluation of the area of spectral profile of the bands which is used for the estimation of biochemicals variation in the bottle gourd.

Results: The procured spectrum depicts spectral signatures of the different biochemicals: carotenoid (β-carotene), polysaccharides (cellulose, starch and pectin), proteins, lipids, and amino acids.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the FT-Raman and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy techniques are extremely useful for rapid, non-invasive, sensitive, accurate and non-destructive techniques for the analysis of the intact fresh plant tissues without the necessity of sample preparation.