BLBS102-c43 BLBS102-Simpson March 21, 2012 14:30 Trim: 276mm X 219mm Printer Name: Yet to Come
43 Biogenic Amines in Foods 829agmatine that occur in products like beer (Loret et al. 2005).
The beer BAI is calculated asBeer BAI=Cadaverine+Histamine+Tyramine+
Putrescine+Phenylethylamine+Trytamine
1 +AgmatineHitherto, a beer BAI value below 1 indicates a good quality
product, a value between 1 and 10 is considered as mediocre
quality, while a value≥10 connotes spoilage. For meats, the
total content of putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine
may be used to determine freshness, with levels≤5.0μg/g meat
indicating high quality products (Hernandez-Jover et al. 1997).ANALYSIS METHODS
There are several analytical methods available for the detec-
tion, isolation, and quantification of biogenic amine levels in
food products. These include chromatographic, fluorometric,
and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods.Extraction and ChromatographyVarious chromatographic methods have been used to analyze
biogenic amines. These methods all entail an initial extraction
step to recover the amines from the food product using organic
solvents, together with perchloric and trichloroacetic acids. The
extract thus obtained may then be subjected to chromatographic
separation methods such as ion-exchange column chromatogra-
phy, paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC),
gas liquid chromatography, and high-pressure liquid chromatog-
raphy (HPLC; Moret and Conte 1996, Cinquina et al. 2004, Pale-
ologos and Kontominas 2004). TLC is considered as the simplest
of the chromatographic methods for the separation and quantifi-
cation of biogenic amines (Shalaby 1996). It is effective, accu-
rate, fairly rapid, relatively inexpensive, and can be applied to
large sample sizes. HPLC methods are commonly used method
for biogenic amine analysis because they are highly sensitive
and reproducible, although they require relatively more sophis-
ticated and expensive technology, and are more time-consuming
and tedious to carry out compared with TLC (Shakila et al. 2001,
Lange et al. 2002).Fluorometric MethodsBiogenic amines may also be determined by fluorometric meth-
ods. These methods also involve extraction, purification, and
separation of the compounds as in the chromatographic proce-
dures. However, in order to quantify particular biogenic amines,
the eluant is mixed with a molecule to form a fluorescent product,
and the degree to which it fluoresces at particular wavelengths is
determined and used as a measure of the amount of the biogenic
amine in a food product by comparing with known standards
(Du et al. 2002).BiosensorsThis technology is based on the recognition of biogenic amines
by specific ligands such as enzymes, antibodies, receptors, or
microorganisms. The binding of the amines to these ligands is
“sensed” by electrochemical, mass, optical, or thermal sensors,
and the degree of response is measured and correlated with the
amount of the substrate (amines) present in the raw material or
sample (Tombelli and Mascini 1998, Sarkadi 2009). Commonly
used biosensors for biogenic amines include putrescine oxidase
and DAOs (Carelli et al. 2007). These enzymes utilize O 2 to react
with the amines and produce H 2 O 2. The change in concentration
(of O 2 or H 2 O 2 ) is typically measured as changes in electric
signal by electrodes (Prodromidis and Karayannis 2002).Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayBiogenic amines in foods may also be measured by the ELISA.
This method is based on the detection ofN-amino derivatives of
histamine using antibodies. TheN-amino derivatives are synthe-
sized from histamine before analysis using compounds such asp-
benzoquinone or propionic acid esters. There are presently com-
mercial ELISA test methods that are available for the analysis
of histamine levels in wine, cheese, and fish (Serrar et al. 1995,
Aygun et al. 1999, Rupasinghe and Clegg 2007). The ELISA
method used to analyze wine sometimes yields slightly higher
results than the HPLC method; however, the ELISA method has
the advantage of being more rapid and less tedious to perform
than the HPLC methods.EFFECTS OF FOOD PROCESSING
AND STORAGEFood processing is an essential mechanism for controlling the
biogenic amine levels in foods. Because of their high thermal sta-
bility, once amines are formed, their concentrations will not be
significantly decreased during cooking and heating processes.
Processing techniques such as evisceration, postharvest han-
dling, freezing, salting, and smoking can greatly affect the bio-
genic amine content and quality of the final product.EviscerationEvisceration can help control fish quality. For example, Atlantic
croacker and trout eviscerated directly after capture had a longer
shelf life than their iced un-eviscerated counterparts, and the
cadaverine and histamine concentrations were significantly less
in the eviscerated samples versus those of un-gutted fish samples
(Paleologos et al. 2004). This observation is due to a decrease in
the load of microorganisms associated with the eviscerated fish
compared with the un-eviscerated ones.Temperature ControlBiogenic amine levels in food products are also greatly influ-
enced by storage temperature. Postharvest handling techniques
like immediate icing are important in controlling biogenic amine