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Background: Intelligent monitoring of fixation quality is a prerequisite for automated green tea processing. To meet the requirements of intelligent monitoring of fixation quality in large-scale production, fast and non-destructive detection means are urgently needed. Here, smartphone-coupled micro near-infrared spectroscopy and a self-built computer vision system were used to perform rapid detection of the fixation quality in green tea processing lines., Results: Spectral and image information from green tea samples with different fixation degrees were collected at-line by two intelligent monitoring sensors. Competitive adaptive reweighted sampling and correlation analysis were employed to select feature variables from spectral and color information as the target data for modeling, respectively. The developed least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) model by spectral information and the LS-SVM model by image information achieved the best discriminations of sample fixation degree, with both prediction set accuracies of 100%. Compared to the spectral information, the image information-based support vector regression model performed better in moisture prediction, with a correlation coefficient of prediction of 0.9884 and residual predictive deviation of 6.46., Conclusion: The present study provided a rapid and low-cost means of monitoring fixation quality, and also provided theoretical support and technical guidance for the automation of the green tea fixation process. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Most studies focus on the geographically larger production areas in tea traceability. However, famous high-quality tea is often produced in a narrow range of origins, which makes traceability a challenge. In this study, Taiping Houkui (TPHK) green tea of narrow geographical origin was rapidly identified using Fourier-transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy., Results: First, spectral information of 114 TPHK samples from four production areas was acquired. Second, the synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) was used to balance the sample data set, and three different spectral pre-processing methods were compared. Third, three feature variable selection algorithms were used to obtain the pre-processed spectral features. Finally, extreme learning machine (ELM) models based on the variables obtained from the selected features were established to trace the TPHK origin. The optimized ELM model achieves 95.35% classification accuracy in the test set., Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that the optimized variable selection method in combination with NIR spectroscopy represents a suitable strategy for tea traceability in narrow regions. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Tea (Camellia sinensis L) is a highly nutritious beverage with commercial value globally. However, it is at risk of economic fraud. This study aims to develop a powerful evaluation method to distinguish Chinese official Dianhong tea from various other categories, employing hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology and chemometric algorithms., Results: Two matrix statistical algorithms encompassing a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and a gradient co-occurrence matrix (GLGCM) are used to extract HSI texture data. Three novel spectral variable screening methods are utilized to select wavenumbers of near-infrared (NIR) spectra: iteratively retaining informative variables (IRIV), interval random frog, and variable combination population analysis. Feature fusion of image texture characteristics and spectra data are the eigenvectors for model building. Authentic classification models are constructed using the extreme learning machine approach and the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) approach, coupling them with features from wavelength extraction techniques for assessing the quality of Dianhong black tea. The results demonstrate that the LSSVM model using fused data (IRIV + GLGCM) provides the best results and achieves a predictive precision of 99.57%., Conclusion: This study confirms that HSI coupled with LSSVM is effective in differentiating authentic Dianhong black tea samples. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Grading represents an essential criterion for the quality assurance of black tea. The main objectives of the study were to develop a highly robust model for Chinese black tea of seven grades based on cognitive spectroscopy., Results: Cognitive spectroscopy was proposed to combine near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with machine learning and evolutionary algorithms, selected feature information from complex spectral data and show the best results without human intervention. The NIRS measuring system was used to obtain the spectra of Chinese black tea samples of seven grades. The spectra acquired were preprocessed by standard normal variate transformation (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and minimum/maximum normalization (MIN/MAX), and the optimal pretreating method was implemented using principal component analysis combined with linear discriminant analysis algorithm. Three feature selection evolutionary algorithms, which were a genetic algorithm (GA), simulated annealing (SA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), were compared to search the best preprocessed characteristic wavelengths. Cognitive models of Chinese black tea ranks were constructed using extreme learning machine (ELM), K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) methods based on the selected characteristic variables. Experimental results revealed that the PSO-SVM model showed the best predictive performance with the correlation coefficients of prediction set (R p ) of 0.9838, the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0246, and the correct discriminant rate (CDR) of 98.70%. The extracted feature wavelengths were only occupying 0.18% of the origin., Conclusion: The overall results demonstrated that cognitive spectroscopy could be utilized as a rapid strategy to identify Chinese black tea grades. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The evaluation of Chinese dianhong black tea (CDBT) grades was an important indicator to ensure its quality. A handheld spectroscopy system combined with chemometrics was utilized to assess CDBT from eight grades. Both variables selection methods, namely genetic algorithm (GA) and successive projections algorithm (SPA), were employed to acquire the feature variables of each sample spectrum. A partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms were applied for the establishment of the grading discrimination models based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Comparisons of the portable and benchtop NIRS systems were implemented to obtain the optimal discriminant models. Experimental results showed that GA-SVM models by the handheld sensors yielded the best predictive performance with the correct discriminant rate (CDR) of 98.75% and 100% in the training set and prediction set, respectively. This study demonstrated that the handheld system combined with a suitable chemometric and feature information selection method could successfully be used for the rapid and efficient discrimination of CDBT rankings. It was promising to establish a specific economical portable NIRS sensor for in situ quality assurance of CDBT grades., Competing Interests: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article., (© 2020 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Non-volatile compounds play a key role in the quality and price of Keemun black tea (KBT). The non-volatile compounds in KBT samples from different producing areas normally vary greatly. The development of rapid methods for tracing the geographical origin of KBT is useful. In this study, we develop models for the discrimination of KBT's geographical origin based on non-volatile compounds., Results: Seventy-two KBT samples were collected from five towns in Anhui province to determine 13 KBT compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Analysis of variance showed that the content of 13 compounds in KBT indicated significant differences (P < 0.05) among five towns. Three multivariate statistical models including principal component analysis (PCA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were built to discriminate origin. Principal component analysis effectively extracted three principal components, namely theaflavins, galloylated catechins, and simple catechins. The high sensitivity (64.5%-99.2%) was achieved of SIMCA model. To establish the discriminant functions, six variables (gallic acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, theaflavin-3-gallate, theaflavin-3,3'-di-gallate, and total theaflavins) were chosen from 13 variables, and LDA was applied. This gave a satisfactory overall correct classification rate (94.4%) and cross-validation rate (88.9%) for KBT samples., Conclusion: The results showed that HPLC analysis together with chemometrics is a reliable approach for tracing KBT and guaranteeing its authenticity. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Keemun black tea (KBT) is one of the most popular tea beverages in China as a result of its unique flavor and potential health benefits. The geographical origin of KBT influences its quality and price. The present study aimed to apply a head-space solid phase microextraction approach and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with chemometric analysis to profile the volatile compounds of KBT collected from five production areas., Results: Thirty-one peaks were detected in 61 KBT samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) and stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) were employed to visualize the volatile fractions. The results of unsupervised statistical tools were compared using a test for similarities and distinctions, which showed that different sources may be associated. A satisfying combination of average recognition (91.7%) and cross-validation prediction abilities (84.6%) was obtained for the PCA-k-NN. Among all of the statistical tools, SLDA provided promising results, with 100% recognition and 96.4% prediction ability., Conclusion: The results obtained in the present study indicate that the volatile compounds can be used as indicators to identify the geographical origin of KBT. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Seventy-three Lu'an guapian tea (LAGP) samples were collected from 11 growing locations in the city of Lu'an, Anhui Province, China. Through high-performance liquid chromatography, 18 amino acids, along with gallic acid, caffeine, and five catechins, were quantitatively detected. Hierarchical cluster, correlation and principal component analysis, and a support vector machine were used for geographical discrimination. The findings suggested that the differences in tea quality between the inner and outer mountain regions are related to isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and valine contents, with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.85. Principal component analysis combining with support vector machine was a feasible method. The identification rates for the inner and outer mountains were 97.96% in the training set and 95.83% in the prediction set. Furthermore, the identification rates for the three counties were 91.84% and 95.83% in the training and prediction sets, respectively., Competing Interests: Huan Su, Weiquan Wu, Xiaochun Wan, and Jing ming Ning declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

Background: Photosynthetic pigments perform critical physiological functions in tea plants. Their content is an essential indicator of photosynthetic efficiency and nutritional status. The present study aimed to predict chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), total chlorophyll (total Chl), and carotenoid (Car) content in tea leaves under different levels of nitrogen treatment using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in combination with variable selection algorithms., Results: A total of 150 samples were collected and scanned using the HSI system. The mean spectrum in the region of interest (ROI) was extracted, and the pigment content was measured by traditional chemical methods. Five and seven optimal wavelengths (OWs) were selected using the regression coefficients (RCs) of partial least squares regression (PLSR) and the second-derivative (2-Der), respectively. The optimal 2-Der-PLSR models for Chl a, Chl b, total Chl, and Car performed remarkably well based on seven OWs with correlation coefficients of prediction (R P ) of 0.9337, 0.9322, 0.9333 and 0.9036, root mean square errors in prediction (RMSEP) of 0.1100, 0.0511, 0.1620, and 0.0300 mg g -1 , respectively., Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that HSI combined with variable selection method can be employed as a rapid and accurate method for predicting the content of pigments in tea plants. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: The instrumental evaluation of tea quality using digital sensors instead of human panel tests has attracted much attention globally. However, individual sensors do not meet the requirements of discriminant accuracy as a result of incomprehensive sensor information. Considering the major factors in the sensory evaluation of tea, the study integrated multisensor information, including spectral, image and olfaction feature information., Results: To investigate spectral and image information obtained from hyperspectral spectrometers of different bands, principal components analysis was used for dimension reduction and different types of supervised learning algorithms (linear discriminant analysis, K-nearest neighbour and support vector machine) were selected for comparison. Spectral feature information in the near infrared region and image feature information in the visible-near infrared/near infrared region achieved greater accuracy for classification. The results indicated that a support vector machine outperformed other methods with respect to multisensor data fusion, which improved the accuracy of evaluating green tea quality compared to using individual sensor data. The overall accuracy of the calibration set increased from 75% using optimal single sensor information to 92% using multisensor information, and the overall accuracy of the prediction set increased from 78% to 92%., Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that multisensory data accurately identify six grades of tea. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer plays an important role in tea plantation management, with significant impacts on the photosynthetic capacity, productivity and nutrition status of tea plants. The present study aimed to establish a method for the discrimination of N fertilizer levels using hyperspectral imaging technique., Results: Spectral data were extracted from the region of interest, followed by the first derivative to reduce background noise. Five optimal wavelengths were selected by principal component analysis. Texture features were extracted from the images at optimal wavelengths by gray-level gradient co-occurrence matrix. Support vector machine (SVM) and extreme learning machine were used to build classification models based on spectral data, optimal wavelengths, texture features and data fusion, respectively. The SVM model using fused data gave the best performance with highest correct classification rate of 100% for prediction set., Conclusion: The overall results indicated that visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging combined with SVM were effective in discriminating N fertilizer levels of tea plants. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Brick tea usually contains very high fluoride, which may affect human health. Biosorbents have received much attention for selective removal of fluoride because of low cost, environmental friendliness, and relative safeness., Results: In the present study, a highly selective fluoride tea waste based biosorbent, namely, aluminum (Al) oxide decorated tea waste (Tea-Al), was successfully prepared. The Tea-Al biosorbent was characterized by energy-dispersive spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis. The Tea-Al sample exhibited remarkably selective adsorption for fluoride (52.90%), but a weaker adsorption for other major constituents of brick tea infusion, such as catechins, polyphenols and caffeine, under the same conditions. Fluoride adsorption by Tea-Al for different times obeyed the surface reaction and adsorption isotherms fit the Freundlich model. In addition, the fluoride adsorption mechanism appeared to be an ion exchange between hydroxyl and fluoride ions., Conclusion: Results from this study demonstrated that Tea-Al is a promising biosorbent useful for the removal of fluoride in brick tea infusion. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.)