A method far determining biogenic amines in food using micellar electrokine
tic capillary chromatography has been developed. Derivatization of the amin
es was performed with AccQ (6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate
; Waters, Milford, MA, USA) reagent. The influence of buffer composition on
the separation (including pH, SDS concentration and various additives) was
investigated. The separation of seven biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine
, tryptamine, spermine, spermidine, cadaverine acid putrescine) could be ac
hieved within 25-30 min with good repeatability. The biogenic amine profile
s in three different food samples (wine, salami and chive) were determined
and quantitated. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res
erved.