Raman mapping of caffeine alkaloid

The paper presents Raman spectroscopy applied to the analysis of caffeine directly in the plant tissue as well as in pharmaceutical curatives. This valuable plant alkaloid has been detected in vivo in, e.g. guarana seeds and green tea leaves whereas in situ drug investigations have covered several pain-killers and cordials. Raman spectroscopy can provide information about the chemical composition of the investigated samples. Based on the characteristic key bands of caffeine it is possible to identify caffeine forms (hydrate or anhydrous) as well as distribution of this alkaloid in the medicaments. Simultaneously with caffeine the analysis of other coexisting components can be performed. The ability to rapidly monitor various plant components enables Raman spectroscopy to efficiently select high-quality single plants from wild populations as well as progenies of crossing experiments. Furthermore, the vibrational spectroscopy methods can also be used by the processing pharmaceutical industry in order to perform fast quality checks of incoming raw materials as well as continuous controlling of drug production. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.