Rapid Spectrophotometric Analysis of the Chemical Composition of Tobacco: Part 1: Total Reducing Sugars

The log₁₀ (1/R) spectra, from 1.4 to 2.4 µm, of 152 samples of comminuted samples of tobacco were recorded on a computerized spectrophotometer. The parameter d² (log (1/R)) / d λ² was calculated for each spectrum and correlated with chemical analyses of total reducing sugars using the method proposed by Harvey et al. (12). A nine-term multiple-linear regression relating the above parameter at seven different wavelengths to total reducing sugar gave a correlation coefficient of 0.990 and a standard error of ± 1.15 percent. Instrument noise was found to contribute over 50 percent of the total variance.