{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,22]],"date-time":"2025-10-22T22:28:26Z","timestamp":1761172106740,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760918400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022.07519.PTDC","10.54499\/UIDB\/05183","UIDB\/00631\/2020 CEOT BASE","10.54499\/LA\/P\/0121\/2020","10.54499\/CEECIND\/01014\/2018\/CP1540\/CT0002","CEECINST\/00052\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022.07519.PTDC","10.54499\/UIDB\/05183","UIDB\/00631\/2020 CEOT BASE","10.54499\/LA\/P\/0121\/2020","10.54499\/CEECIND\/01014\/2018\/CP1540\/CT0002","CEECINST\/00052\/2021"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polysaccharides"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is receiving growing attention for its agro-industrial potential, particularly due to its seeds, which are the source of locust bean gum (LBG), a galactomannan-rich polysaccharide with wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Efficient dehusking of carob seeds is critical to maximize LBG purity and yield, yet current industrial methods pose environmental concerns and lack robust quality control tools. In this study, we demonstrate the use of Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) and Kubelka\u2013Munk (KM) modeling as a rapid, non-destructive technique to assess dehusking efficiency. By combining spectral data from four complementary spectrometers (450\u20131800 nm), we identified key reflectance and absorbance features capable of distinguishing raw, industrially treated, and laboratory-dehusked seeds. Notably, our laboratory-treated seeds exhibited a considerably lower reflectance in the NIR plateau (800\u20131400 nm) compared to raw and industry-treated seeds, and their KM-reconstructed skin showed enhanced absorption bands at 960, 1200, and 1400 nm, consistent with more complete husk removal and improved light penetration. Principal Component Analysis revealed tighter clustering and lower variability in lab-processed seeds, indicating superior process reproducibility. These results establish DRS as a scalable, green analytical tool to support quality control and optimization in carob processing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polysaccharides6040095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T15:20:12Z","timestamp":1760973612000},"page":"95","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Shedding Light on Carob Seeds: A Non-Destructive Approach to Assess Dehusking Efficiency Using Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy and Kubelka\u2013Munk Theory"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8642-5792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Guerra","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CEOT\u2014Centre for Electronics, Optoelectronics and Telecommunications, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Edf. 2, Campus Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"},{"name":"Departamento de F\u00edsica, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Edf. 2, Campus Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7675-0719","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Br\u00e1zio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEOT\u2014Centre for Electronics, Optoelectronics and Telecommunications, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Edf. 2, Campus Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3038-4434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Gon\u00e7alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MED\u2014Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Ed. 8, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7204-7428","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anabela","family":"Romano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MED\u2014Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Ed. 8, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0972-1739","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruno","family":"Medronho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MED\u2014Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Ed. 8, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"},{"name":"Surface and Colloid Engineering, FSCN Research Centre, Mid Sweden University, SE-851 70 Sundsvall, Sweden"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Martins-Lou\u00e7\u00e3o, M.A., Correia, P.J., and Romano, A. 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