Melatonin is formed during winemaking at safe levels of biogenic amines

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has accepted health claims for the food constituent melatonin because scientific evidence shows that it is effective at reducing sleep onset latency, and that it alleviates subjective feelings of jet lag. According to risk assessment data published by EFSA in 2011, histamine and tyramine are the most toxic biogenic amines and the ones that most affect food safety. The potential formation of biogenic amines is a concern in fermented foods because of the intense microbial activity. Conversely, Saccharomyces cerevisiase produces melatonin during fermentation in the winemaking process. This study aims to evaluate the production of potentially healthy melatonin and toxic biogenic amines during the winemaking process. To this end, 11 biogenic amines (agmatine, cadaverine, histamine, methylamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, spermidine, spermine, tyramine, tryptamine and melatonin) have been monitored during the making of 5 monovarietal wines (Merlot, Palomino Fino, Syrah, Tempranillo and Tintilla de Rota). This paper shows that alcoholic and malolactic fermentation plays a crucial role in the formation of these compounds. Bioactive melatonin is formed at safe levels of the other biogenic amines.