Changes in biogenic amines and total volatile base nitrogen in Gonatopsis borealis muscle during storage

Abstract

An HPLC method coupled with pre-column derivatization was used to analyze the concentrations of six biogenic amines (BAs) including putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, spermidine, tyramine and spermine in Gonatopsis borealis (a species of squid) during different storage conditions (0 °C and 4 °C, 0–12 d; 25 °C, 0–24 h). Results showed that histamine (21.03–32.26 mg/kg) was the dominant BA in squid muscle stored at refrigerator temperature, followed by spermine (10.84–7.94 mg/kg) and spermidine (3.67–11.20 mg/kg). The levels of six BAs in the squid muscle increased with storage time, and their formations during storage were zero-order reactions (0 °C, R2 = 0.834–0.979, k = 0.0003–0.0006 mg/kg min−1; 4 °C, R2 = 0.705–0.994, k = 0.0004–0.0006 mg/kg min−1; 25 °C, R2 = 0.454–0.931, k = 0.0003–0.0512 mg/kg min−1), which meant that the contents of BAs in squid muscle did not affect their formation rates. In addition, the concentrations of BAs were correlated with total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) values (R2 = 0.604–0.966). The results of multivariate linear regression analysis show that the use of six BAs could predict the TVB-N value in squid muscle very well (R2 = 0.944–1.000). This study revealed the changes and formation kinetics of six BAs in Gonatopsis borealis stored at refrigerator and ambient temperature conditions, which could contribute to improving the safety and quality of shellfish products.