The physicochemical properties of the natural sweeteners we
tested are very similar and cannot be used to classify or distinguish
between agave syrups and other natural syrups. The physicochemical
properties of different agave syrups vary according to the
source species (A. tequilana or A. salmiana), however. MIR spectroscopy
allowed the classification and discrimination of agave and
other natural syrups. MIR spectroscopy in combination with PCA
(SIMCA) can therefore be used as a fast, low cost, simple, and nondestructive
tool for the classification and discrimination of syrups
from different natural sources. Moreover, MIR-SIMCA-PCA has
great potential for the identification, classification, and discrimination
of syrups from different agave species.