Evaluation of the use of attenuated total reflectance mid infrared spectroscopy to determine fatty acids in intact seeds of barley (Hordeum vulgare)

- Mid infrared spectroscopy was evaluated to measure fatty acids content in barley.
- Mid infrared regions were identified and related to fatty acids and total lipids.
- The result showed that MIR spectroscopy can be used to measure intact barley.

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy was evaluated to measure fatty acids (FA) and total lipids in intact seed barley (Hordeum vulgare) samples. Results from this study demonstrated the capability of ATR-MIR spectroscopy coupled with partial least squares (PLS) regression to measure FA non-destructively in intact barley seeds. The coefficients of determination in cross validation (R2) and the standard error of cross validation (SECV) were 0.76 and 0.004 g 100 g−1 for stearic, 0.75 and 0.037 g 100 g−1 for oleic, 0.45 and 0.02 g 100 g−1 for palmitic acids, and 0.89 and 0.13 g 100 g−1 for total lipids, respectively. The practical implications of this study showed that ATR-MIR spectroscopy confer valuable benefits for the grain industry and in particular in breeding programs as a non-destructive high throughput method.