Data-Driven FTIR Spectroscopy for the Discrimination of Nectars.

ABSTRACT: Nectar composition varies across plant species and environments, influencing pollinator interactions and honey quality. Reliable methods for nectar discrimination, however, remain limited. Here, we demonstrate the use of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometric analysis to differentiate nectar samples of Echium vulgare (E. vulgare) and Hedera helix (H. helix) collected in urban locations. Among eight tested preprocessing strategies, simple approaches such as Savitzky-Golay smoothing or even raw spectra provided the best clustering results. The most discriminative spectral regions were consistently the carbohydrate fingerprint (1200-950 cm^-1) and the C-H stretching zone (2935-2885 cm^-1). Mean spectra and PCA c

SUBMITTER: Szaniawska A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12565982 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature