Use of NIRS for quantification of mangiferin and hesperidin contents of dried green honeybush (Cyclopia genistoides) plant material

Cyclopia genistoides, normally used for the preparation of an herbal tea, honeybush, is a good source of the bio-active compounds mangiferin and hesperidin and is in demand for the preparation of xanthone-enriched extracts. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to develop calibration models to predict the mangiferin and hesperidin contents of the dried green plant material. NIRS measurements of plant material and pure compounds were performed in diffuse reflectance mode. The calibration sets for mangiferin and hesperidin contents ranged from 0.7 to 7.21 and 0.64-4.80 g/100 g, respectively. Using independent validation, it was shown that the NIRS calibration models for the prediction of mangiferin (SEP=0.46 g/100 g; R2=0.74; and RPD=1.96) and hesperidin (SEP=0.38 g/100 g; R2=0.72; and RDP=1.90) contents of the dried plant material are adequate for screening purposes, based on RPD values.