Determination of biogenic amines in fish products

Concentrations of 5 biogenic amines were simultaneously determined in 63 samples of fish products using HPLC. Fish products were purchased from different cities in Turkey. Fish samples included canned sardines, canned mackerel, canned tuna, and marinated anchovies. The total level of biogenic amines ranged from 26.58 to 406.55 mg/kg. Histamine (HIS) and cadaverine (CAD) were the dominant biogenic amines. Concentrations of tyramine (TYR) and HIS were less than 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. The relationship between formation of biogenic amines in fish products and thiobarbituric acid (TBA), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and pH values was also investigated. There were significant negative correlation (p < 0.01) between TBA, and TVB-N, pH respectively. Significant positive correlation was found between TVB-N, and pH, protein, and CAD, TYR, and HIS. There were significant (p < 0.01) positive correlations between TBA, TYR, tryptamine, pH, and TVB-N values in fish samples.