Application of Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy Combined With Chemometrics for the Assessment of Peimine/Peiminine Content and Antiviral Efficacy in <i>Fritillaria thunbergii</i>

Fritillaria thunbergii bulbus is a traditional Chinese medicine widely used for its expectorant and antitussive effects. However, the practical application of existing detection methods is significantly limited by their complex sample preparation, lengthy experimental procedures, and stringent technical requirements. In this study, a rapid and accurate method for determining the content of peimine (PE), peiminine (PEM), and antiviral activity (AVA) in F. thunbergii was established using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometrics. A total of 79 batches of samples were collected to investigate the influence of five different processing methods (including shell powder processing, sulfur fumigation, slice‐drying, little‐complete‐drying, and freeze‐drying) on quality attributes. Quantitative models were established based on the partial least squares (PLS) algorithm, with model optimization achieved through two wavelength selection methods: synergy interval partial least squares (Si‐PLS) and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS). Results indicated that processing methods significantly affected PE/PEM content and AVA. Freeze‐dried F. thunbergii demonstrated optimal performance, achieving the highest total PE/PEM content (0.1735%) and superior AVA (8.517 U/mg). The CARS‐PLS model demonstrated the best performance with the coefficient of determination for prediction () values of 0.8850, 0.8240, and 0.8336 for PE, PEM, and AVA, respectively. The root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for PE, PEM, and AVA were 0.0101%, 0.0070%, and 1.7921 U/mg, respectively. The residual predictive deviation (RPD) values for all three models were greater than 2.4. These results indicate that the established model enables the rapid determination of PE, PEM content, and AVA in F. thunbergii and can be applied for the rapid and nondestructive discrimination of the quality of F. thunbergii medicinal material.