Abstract
Gelatin is a protein substance that is widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Gelatin is mainly derived from bovine and porcine sources. Fish gelatin is becoming alternative source of gelatin due to concern on health issue and religious constraints. Numerous studies for identification of gelatin sources have been reported. In this study, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used in combination with chemometrics fuzzy autocatalytic set (c-FACS) to distinguish between bovine, porcine and fish gelatins. The gelatin spectra at Amide and 1600-1000 cm-1 regions were analyzed using c-FACS and the results were compared to principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The results obtained from c-FACS method showed that each bovine, porcine and fish gelatin possessed dominant wavenumbers at 1470-1475 cm-1, 1444-1450 cm-1 and 1496-1500 cm-1 respectively, which represent their unique signatures. Furthermore, a clear distinction for porcine gelatin was observed in coordinated FACS. The c-FACS method is rigor and faster than PCA and LDA in differentiating the gelatin sources. The novel method promises at least another chemometrics method for FTIR related analysis and the possibilities for other applications are endless.