Selective determination of histamine by flow injection analysis.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Histamine analysis is crucial for food safety and understanding physiological processes.
• Existing methods for histamine determination often require complex sample preparation and separation techniques.
• Interference from similar compounds like histidine can complicate accurate quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly selective and sensitive flow injection analysis (FIA) method for histamine determination.
• To overcome challenges posed by matrix effects and interfering substances in biological samples.
• To establish a rapid and efficient analytical method for histamine quantification.

Main Methods:

• Utilized flow injection analysis (FIA) with controlled reaction timing.
• Exploited a transient, chemical-kinetic reaction between o-phthalaldehyde and histamine for enhanced selectivity.
• Incorporated on-line dilution to mitigate matrix effects and ensure a linear response.

Main Results:

• Achieved a molar fluorescence ratio (selectivity) of histamine/histidine up to 800 within 32 seconds.
• Demonstrated a linear response for histamine up to approximately 4.45 mM (500 mg/100 g).
• Established a detection limit of 5.5 pg (0.60 mg/100 g) with a high throughput of 60 injections per hour.

Conclusions:

• The developed FIA method offers high sensitivity and selectivity for rapid histamine determination.
• The method effectively minimizes interference from common biological compounds, negating the need for separation.
• Applicable for analyzing histamine in fish and endogenous histamine in biological fluids and tissues like blood plasma and brain tissue.