The formation of non-volatile amines in relation to concentrations of free basic amino acids during postmortem storage of the muscle of scallop ( Pecten maximus), herring ( Clupea harengus) and mackerel ( Scomber scombrus)

Abstract

The concentrations of the non-volatile biogenic amines that form during storage of the adductor muscle of scallop ( Pecten maximus ) and the skeletal muscles of mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and herring ( Clupea harengus ) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, using postcolumn derivatisation with o-phthalaldehyde. Initially, concentrations of amines were low in all muscles but, as time of storage progressed, the concentration of agmatine increased steadily in scallop muscle reaching a level of 100 mg per 100 g wet weight after 10 days of storage in ice or 3 days at 10°C. In mackerel and herring only slight increases were observed, with levels of less than 1.0 mg after 10 days in ice or 2 days at 10°C. In scallop, arginine, the precursor of agmatine, decreased steadily in concentration. In herring muscle, histidine, the precursor of histamine, decreased considerably in concentration, whereas in mackerel it changed only slightly. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd