Identification of Spectral Fingerprints in Different Batches of Antimalarial Herbal Drugs Using Laser-Induced Autofluorescence and Chemometric Techniques

Variability in antimalarial herbal drugs (AMHDs) poses a challenge to quality control and efficacy, especially in low-resource regions where malaria is prevalent. This study employs a non-destructive laser-induced autofluorescence (LIAF) technique combined with chemometrics to assess spectral fingerprint consistency across six (6) AMHD batches. The LIAF spectra reveal distinct Gaussian fluorescence profiles of secondary metabolites with associated specific fluorescence peaks. Results indicate a significant level of uniformity in metabolite composition with 99.46% and 98.67% averaged cosine similarity for intra-batch and inter-batch consistency respectively. This study characterized the spectral signature of batch-to-batch AMHDs, which manufacturers can leverage to prevent inconsistencies in AMHD production. These inconsistencies could potentially lead to counterfeiting and pose direct and indirect threats to public health, clinical care, and socio-economic development.