BIOGENIC-AMINES IN TABLE OLIVES - ANALYSIS BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Biogenic amines in fermented vegetables have scarcely been studied. Av ailable data show that in table olives and fermented cucumbers their p resence is rare and any determinations made have been restricted mainl y to histamine. However, some microorganisms, especially those related to spoilage, found in the fermentation brines of such products may ha ve amino acid decarboxylase activity and give rise to biogenic amines by unusual processes. A method for the simultaneous determination of e ight biogenic amines (tryptamine, beta-phenylethylamine, putrescine, c adaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine) has been dev eloped to study their occurrence in fermented vegetables in more detai l. The method consists of extraction of the amines from olive paste wi th 5% m/v trichloroacetic acid and successive transfers into water-sat urated n-BuOH and 0.1 mol l(-1) HCl. An aliquot of this mixture is dri ed and derivatized with dansyl chloride. The dansyl derivatives are th en analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Special emphasi s has been given to optimization of the n-BuOH and 0.1 mol l(-1) HCl e xtractions and to the derivatization conditions. By applying this meth od to the analysis of spoilt olives, the presence of some biogenic ami nes has been demonstrated. Thus a new method for monitoring the presen ce of biogenic amines during the fermentation of olives and for detect ing anomalous fermentations is envisaged.