Rapid High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Biogenic Amines in Fermented Vegetable Brines

The presence of biogenic amines in fermented vegetable products is rare, although abnormal fermentation processes may lead to the growth of microorganisms and the amino acid decarboxylase activity that can produce them. Simple methods for the determination of such amines will help considerably in their control. A methodology for the analysis of biogenic amines in fermented vegetable brines has been developed. By means of benzoyl derivatization, nine biogenic amines, namely tryptamine, β-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, spermine, and agmatine could be analyzed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in only 13 min. Quantification was achieved by using 1,8-diamineoctane as internal standard. The method consists basically of treating a precleaned sample with benzoyl chloride, as derivatizating reagent, in a strongly alkaline medium. The benzoylamine derivatives are extracted with diethyl ether, and after evaporation the residue is redissolved in methanol and analyzed by HPLC. By using UV-visible spectrophometric detection at both 225 and 254 nm, detection limits between 5.60 and 54.40 pg were achieved. The method appears to be applicable to a wide variety of brine samples, such as those from green table olives, cucumbers, and lupine.