Piper methysticum Forst., commonly referred to as kava, has been used medicinally and recreationally by inhabitants of the South Pacific Islands for centuries. Kavalactones present in roots and aerial parts are regarded as the bioactive compounds responsible for the relaxant effects, and for mitigating anxiety and stress-related conditions. The development of pharmaceutical products containing root extracts led to a boom in kava sales in Europe in 1998. However, reported cases of toxicity led to the subsequent banning of kava products in several countries. This study was initiated to develop rapid, robust and alternative spectroscopic methods for quality control that can be implemented at the point of export, to authenticate the use of kava roots as legislated by the Vanuatu Amended Kava Act no. 6 (2015). Roots, peeled stems, and stump peelings samples (n = 47) were sourced from Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga. The sample extracts were analysed using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector and mass spectrometer (UHPLC-PDA/MS), while powdered material was analysed using spectroscopic techniques. These included single-point (near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy), as well as an imaging (hyperspectral imaging). Principal component analysis of both the raw UPLC-MS and the quantitative UPLC-PDA data revealed chemical differences between the root and non-root samples. Kavain, methysticin and yangonin were identified as the compounds largely responsible for the chemical differences between the plant parts. Discriminant analysis models (OPLS-DA and PLS-DA) were developed for all the techniques, to reliably discriminate kava roots from non-roots. All the discriminant models indicated a good prediction ability (Q²X_Cum ≥ 60 %) and were successfully used to accurately identify external roots and non-root samples. However, hyperspectral imaging yielded superior results, with a prediction ability above 90 %. This technique can be automated and is capable of continuously scanning multiple samples, making it ideal for quality control.

胡椒福斯特（Forst。），通常称为卡瓦（Kava），已经被南太平洋群岛的居民在医学和娱乐上使用了多个世纪。根和地上部分中存在的卡伐内酯被认为是生物活性化合物，可起到放松作用，并减轻焦虑和与压力有关的状况。含有根提取物的药物产品的开发导致1998年欧洲的卡瓦产品销售旺盛。但是，据报道有毒性案例导致随后在几个国家禁止卡瓦产品。这项研究的开始是为了开发可以在出口时实施的质量控制的快速，可靠和替代的光谱方法，以验证根据瓦努阿图修正的卡瓦法第1号法令所规定的卡瓦根的使用。6（2015）。根，去皮的茎和树皮去皮样品（ñ = 47）来自斐济，夏威夷，萨摩亚，所罗门群岛和汤加。使用与光电二极管阵列检测器和质谱仪（UHPLC-PDA / MS）耦合的超高效液相色谱分析样品提取物，同时使用光谱技术分析粉末状材料。这些包括单点（近红外（NIR）和中红外（MIR）光谱）以及成像（高光谱成像）。对原始UPLC-MS和定量UPLC-PDA数据的主成分分析显示，根样品和非根样品之间存在化学差异。确定了卡瓦因，间苯二酚和仰光宁是造成植物部分之间化学差异的主要原因。针对所有技术开发了判别分析模型（OPLS-DA和PLS-DA），可靠地将卡瓦根与非根区分开。所有判别模型均显示出良好的预测能力（Q² X _Cum≥60％），并成功用于准确识别外部根和非根样品。但是，高光谱成像产生了出色的结果，其预测能力超过90％。该技术可以实现自动化，并且能够连续扫描多个样品，因此非常适合进行质量控制。