Biogenic amine profile of the most popular Polish beers

Abstract

Biogenic amines play an important physiological role in mammals and high amounts of some exogenous amines in the human diet may contribute to a wide variety of toxic effects. These amines are commonly found in many foodstuffs, particularly in fermented products such as cheese, meat products, beer and wine. Therefore the typical level of biogenic amines and some polyamine-derived secondary metabolites in the most popular Polish beers was evaluated. Twenty-seven samples of five types of beer purchased from commercial sources were analysed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometric detection after post-column derivatization with dansyl chloride. The total average level of biogenic amines in beers was 16.15±2.89 mg/L. The highest concentration of biogenic amines were: spermine 8.43±3.61 mg/L (n=27), spermidine 3.37±2.07 mg/L (n=25) and putrescine 1.75±0.79 mg/L (n=27). Other biogenic amines were determined at concentration less than 2.0 mg/L. There were no essential differences in the total average amine levels among five types of tested beers: lager, pilsner, strong, stout and non-alcoholic. Individual differences in the biogenic amines present and their levels between breweries were pointed out.