OBJECTIVE To establish a discrimination function for the processing degree of honey-processed Exocarpium Citri Grandis(HPECG) and explore the correlation between its appearance color and internal components based on colorimeter technology.

METHODS Intelligent sensory information of 80 samples of HPECG was obtained using a colorimeter. The 80 samples were analyzed using expert scoring, partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), and Fisher linear discriminant analysis to establish a discrimination function for the processing degree of HPECG. Chromatic values of HPECG samples during the frying process were measured using a colorimeter, while the relative content changes of their common components were analyzed by HPLC fingerprinting. Meanwhile, the correlation between color and components was analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis methods.

RESULTS The established discrimination function were: Y1=2.197ΔL^*−0.150Δa^*−0.484Δb^*+1.444ΔE^*ab+3.064; Y2=0.479ΔL^*−0.319Δa^*−0.795Δb^*+0.433ΔE^*ab+0.371, with a discrimination accuracy rate of 95% to 100%. The Spearman analysis results of the appearance color and internal components showed that the internal components significantly correlated with the color parameter values were mainly peaks 1–4, 9–11, and 15–16. The PLS-DA analysis of common components revealed that those with VIP > 1 were peaks 11, 5, 10, 15, 7, and 13, among which peaks 3 and 11 were 5-HMF and bergaptol, respectively. CONCIUSION The discrimination function for the processing degree of HPECG established based on intelligent sensory technology combined with chemometrics can be used for the discrimination of most HPECG samples, with a relatively high prediction accuracy, providing a reference for the rapid identification of the processing degree of HPECG. In the dynamic correlation study of internal components and appearance color, peaks 11, 10, and 15 were screened out, which are not only significantly correlated with color changes but also have significant changes in content during the frying process of HPECG. Among them, peak 11 is bergaptol, and it is recommended to be used as a candidate marker for quality control of HPECG decoction pieces.