E-eye and FT-NIR combined with multivariate algorithms to rapidly evaluate the dynamic changes in the quality of Gastrodia elata during steaming process

Gastrodia elata (GE) is traditionally subjected to steaming, and steaming duration plays a crucially important role in determining GE quality. This study examined the variations in bioactive components during the steaming process and proposed the utilization of electronic eye and Fourier Transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for quality assessment. The findings revealed that the levels of parishin E parishin B, parishin A, and gastrodin initially rose and subsequently declined, while 4-Hydroxybenzyl alcohol exhibited a rapid decrease followed by stabilization. With prolonged steaming, the brightness of GE decreased, while the red and yellow tones became more pronounced and the color saturation increased. FT-NIR divided the steaming process into three stages: 0 min (raw GE), 0–9 min (partially steamed GE), and 9–30 min (fully steamed GE), and the partial least squares regression models effectively predicted the levels of five components. Overall, this study provided valuable insights into quality control in food processing.