Species authentication and geographical origin discrimination of herbal medicines by near infrared spectroscopy: A review

Abstract

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a rapid and nondestructive analytical technique, integrated with chemometrics, is a powerful process analytical tool for the pharmaceutical industry and is becoming an attractive complementary technique for herbal medicine analysis. This review mainly focuses on the recent applications of NIR spectroscopy in species authentication of herbal medicines and their geographical origin discrimination. Keywords: Near infrared spectroscopy, Herbal medicine, Species authentication, Geographical origin discrimination, Quality control