The Use of Time Domain NMR in Food Analysis: a Review

In this review, we focus on the recent developments in the Time Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR). The Introduction section describes the methods usually adopted for the assessment of food quality, whereas the second paragraph illustrates the basic physical principles of the TD-NMR technique. In the third section, we discuss the principal application of the TDNMR method in food science. In fact, in the last decades, TD-NMR has become one of the most efficient and advanced techniques for the analysis of food products. In TD-NMR technique, the proton relaxation (transversal relaxation, T2) is monitored, providing information about the mobility of the nuclei. TD-NMR is principally used for monitoring the fat composition of food products, which represents a crucial parameter to be considered for controlling the food properties and improving its quality. This paper will present a summary of the most important applications of low field TD-NMR technique in food science and the results of the most important researches.