Abstract
An ion-pair HPLC method with postcolumn o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) derivatization and fluorescence detection was validated for quantitative determination of five biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine, cadaverine, putrescine, and agmatine) in canned fish products (mackerel, sardine, and tuna) marketed in Ghana. The validated method exhibited excellent selectivity and good linearity (R2 > 0.9990) for all the amines. The limits of detection and quantification for studied biogenic amines were in the range of 0.32–0.78 mg·kg−1 and 1.10–2.57 mg·kg−1, respectively. Also, a satisfactory recovery was obtained for all the amines (82.1–101.4%), and the relative standard deviations were lower than 9.3% under repeatability conditions for the studied amines. Subsequently, the method was applied to the analysis of biogenic amines in canned fish products to estimate the safety of Ghanaian consumers. The maximum levels of histamine, tyramine, cadaverine, putrescine, and agmatine detected in the analysed canned fish products were 64.05 mg·kg−1, 27.44 mg·kg−1, 27.23 mg·kg−1, 18.74 mg·kg−1, and 52.72 mg·kg−1, respectively. Thus, the levels of biogenic amines detected in the canned fish products were lower than the acceptable levels and, therefore, can be considered relatively safe for human consumption.
Highlights
Fish is an important source of dietary proteins, minerals, and vitamins and has become a necessity in many households globally
Biogenic amines in canned fish samples were analysed using ion-pair HPLC with postcolumn derivatization and fluorimetric detection. e counterion octanesulfonate was added to the mobile phase to enhance amine interaction with the column and improve separation from matrix interferences [24, 25]
A typical chromatographic profile of the five standard biogenic amines by the gradient elution system is shown in Figure 1(a). e retention time for all the amines was stable and consistently reproducible. e separation of the amines was achieved in less than 30 min run time with good peak resolution, sharpness, and symmetry. e analytical method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, and accuracy
Summary
Fish is an important source of dietary proteins, minerals, and vitamins and has become a necessity in many households globally. Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight organic bases that are formed in foods by microbial decarboxylation of certain amino acids or by transamination of aldehydes and ketones by amino acid transaminases [4, 5]. Amines such as histamine, tyramine, tryptamine, putrescine, cadaverine, agmatine, spermine, and spermidine are frequently observed in foods such as fish, meat, eggs, cheese, fruits, vegetables, beer, and wine [6,7,8]. Bacterial growth results in gradual accumulation of BAs, and high levels are indicative of microbial spoilage
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