Title : Taxonomy of plants in phylum using UV fingerprints and robust chemometrics
Abstract:
The increasing use of plant based treatments requires a fast, easy and cheap technique in order to verify the quality and authenticity of the products. In this study the UV-Vis spectrometry was applied on 42 commercially available hydro-alcoholic herbs extracts. The UV-range was utilized due to the lack of significant differences in Vis-range. The obtained data were digitized, normalized and then subjected to the Multivariate Data Analysis (MDA). The fuzzy methods compared with the classical ones produced better results. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) applied to original data and first derivative revealed a classification of the samples according to the therapeutic effects. A classification of the samples in phylum was obtained with PCA-LDA. The cluster analysis performed on the canonical scores indicates not only a grouping of the plants by phylum, but also by the next ranks: class and subclass, and in each subclass the plants have similar therapeutic uses. The UV-Vis spectrometry coupled with MDA proves to be a powerful method to classify the plants according to their phylum, class and therapeutic effects. The fuzzy methods compared with the classical ones produced better results. The batch of 42 samples is classified into three phyla according to “Flora medicinal? a României”. The spermatophyte phylum contains woody and herbaceous plants; they’re origin being theoretically derived from the pteridophyte phylum. Depending on whether or not the seed is enclosed in fruit they are classified in gymnospermae and angiospermae. The pteridophyte phylum contains the first plants to witch it can be distinguish true organ and tissues, they do not have flowers and the plant breeding is made by spores, they are used in therapy due to the presence of salicylic acid. The main plants that are present in this category are ferns. The magnoliophyte phylum contains the most evolved plants with the seed closed in fruits and a complex arrangement of petals. They are grouped in two categories: monocotyledons and dicotyledons.
