# Characterization of Bulgarian Rosehip Oil by GC-MS, UV-VIS Spectroscopy, Colorimetry, FTIR Spectroscopy, and 3D Excitation–Emission Fluorescence Spectra

## TL;DR

This study analyzed Bulgarian rosehip oils using various techniques to identify differences in their chemical composition and quality.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a low-cost, non-destructive method for quality control of rosehip oils using optical markers and chemometric models.

## Key findings

- GC-MS identified two distinct groups of rosehip oils based on their fatty acid composition.
- FTIR and PCA analysis showed significant variation between samples, with S1 being distinct from others.
- Smartphone spectrometry enabled low-volume, non-destructive analysis of sample differences.

## Abstract

We report the study of seven commercially available rosehip oils (Rosa canina L.) using GC-MS, colorimetry (CIELab), UV-VIS, FTIR, and 3D EEM fluorescence spectroscopy, including using a smartphone spectrometer. GC-MS revealed two groups of oil samples with different chemical constituents: ω-6-dominant with 45–51% α-linolenic acid (samples S1, S2, and S5–S7) and ω-3-dominant with 47–49% α-linolenic, 7.3–19.1% oleic, 1.9–2.8% palmitic, 1.0–1.8% stearic, and 0.1–0.72% arachidic acid (S3, S4). In S1 PUFA content was found to be ~75% with ω-6/ω-3 ≈ 2:1. Favorable lipid indices of AI 0.0197–0.0302, TI 0.0208–0.0304, and h/H 33.0–50.6 were observed. The highest h/H (50.55) was observed in S5 and the lowest TI (0.0208) in S3. FTIR showed characteristic lines at ~3021, 2929/2853, 1749, and ~1370 cm−1, and PCA yielded 60–80% variation and separated S1 from the rest of the samples, while the clusters grouped S5 and S6. The smartphone spectrometer also reproduced the individual differences in sample volumes ≤ 1 µL under 355–395 nm UV excitation. The non-destructive optical markers reflect the fatty acid profile and allow fast low-cost identification and quality control. An integrated control method including routine optical screening, periodic CG-MS verification, and chemometric models to trace oxidation and counterfeiting is suggested.