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Trimethylamine and total volatile basic nitrogen determination by flow injection/gas diffusion in Mediterranean hake
S Baixas-Nogueras1, S Bover-Cid, M C Vidal-Carou
1Departamento de Nutrició i Bromatologia, CeRTA, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|April 20, 2001
Summary
Flow injection/gas diffusion (FIGD) methods offer a reliable, rapid, and cost-effective alternative for determining trimethylamine (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) in hake. These simpler methods correlate well with established procedures, proving their suitability for fish freshness assessment.
Area of Science:
- Food Science and Technology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Assessing fish freshness is crucial for food safety and quality control.
- Traditional methods for determining volatile basic nitrogen compounds can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
- Trimethylamine (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) are key indicators of fish spoilage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reliability of flow injection/gas diffusion (FIGD) methods as a simple, cheap, and rapid alternative for TMA-N and TVB-N determination in hake.
- To compare the accuracy and efficiency of FIGD methods against established official and gas chromatographic procedures.
- To assess the suitability of FIGD for monitoring fish freshness throughout storage.
Main Methods:
- Extraction of volatile amines using 7.5% trichloroacetic acid.
- Injection of extracts into a flow injection/gas diffusion (FIGD) manifold optimized for TMA-N or TVB-N analysis.
- Validation of FIGD method reliability through linearity, precision, recovery, and sensitivity assessments.
- Correlation analysis between FIGD results and official methods/gas chromatography.
Main Results:
- FIGD methods demonstrated satisfactory linearity, precision, recovery, and sensitivity for TMA-N and TVB-N determination.
- High correlation (p < 0.001) was observed between FIGD and official methods for both analytes.
- FIGD methods showed good correlation with gas chromatography for TMA-N.
- Each determination using FIGD took approximately 2 minutes, significantly faster than conventional methods.
Conclusions:
- FIGD methods provide a simpler, cheaper, and faster alternative to current official procedures for TMA-N and TVB-N determination in hake.
- The reliability and speed of FIGD methods make them suitable for routine fish quality assessment.
- Monitoring TMA-N and TVB-N levels using FIGD can effectively track hake freshness during ice storage.