Biogenic amine index

The amount and ratios of BAs in food can serve as quality indicators via the biogenic amine index (BAI), introduced by Karmas (24) and calculated from the most abundant BAs in fish and food according to the following equation ... 

Oral ingestion of up to 1 mmol (ca. 100 mg) of histamine does not elicit toxic symptoms in normal individuals (Motil and Scrimshaw, 1979). However, vasodilation and increased heart rate result on intravenous administration of 0.07 /imol, demonstrating the importance of histamine-metabolizing enzymes in the digestive tract. More research is needed to define nontoxic levels of histamine in foods which may contain other substances that potentiate the action of histamine, e.g., putrescine and cadaver-ine (Bjeldanes etal., 1978). Construction of an overall biogenic amine index may be valuable for the establishment of regulatory fimits (Joosten, 1988). 

Of the biogenic amines produced on the decarboxylation of amino acids (cf. 10.2.8.3), histamine, tyramine, putrescine and cadaverine have been identified in beef and pork. Since these substances are microbial metabolic products, they were the proposed indicators of microbial quality and were listed in the biogenic amine index (BAI = concentration of the four amines in mg/kg). A BAI value of <5 indicates clean meat, 5-20... 

Jorgensen, L.V., Dalgaard, P.H. and Huss, H. (2000). Multiple compound quality index for cold-smoked salmon (Salmo salar) developed by multivariate regression of biogenic amines and pH, J. Agric. Food Chem., 48, 2448. 

As a result of a high index of clinical suspicion and, on occasion, supporting biochemical data from other investigations, one of the first specialist investigations to ascertain whether a patient has an inborn error of biogenic amine metabolism is, as mentioned above, analysis of the CSF concentrations of HVA and 5HIAA. This is often performed in conjunction with the measurement of 3-methyldopa (3-MD), also known as 3-methoxytyrosine. 3-MD is formed from L-dopa via COMT activity and accumulates in conditions where aromatic amino acid decarboxylase activity is impaired. The chemical structures of HVA, 5HIAA and 3-MD are shown in Fig. 6.2.1. 

Sirocchi, V., G. Caprioli, C. Cecchini et al., 2013. Biogenic amines as freshness index of meat wrapped in a new active packaging system formulated with essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis. 

Biogenic amines have been used to establish quality indexes in various foods in order to signal the degree of freshness and/or deterioration of meat, fish, wines, and other foods and beverages (Mietz and Karmas, 1977 Hernandez-Jover et al., 1996a Ruiz-Capillas and Moral, 2001 Silva and Gloria, 2002 Vinci and Antonelli, 2002 Ruiz-Capillas and Jimenez-Colmenero, 2004 Ruiz-Capillas et al., 2007, 2011). A food with toxic levels of amines such as histamine or tyramine often appears organoleptically normal, like tuna or fermented chorizo, so that unacceptable and toxic levels of histamine are undetectable prior to consumption (Vidal-Carou et al., 1990 Lopez-Sabater et al., 1996). 

Vinci, G. and M. L. Antonelli. 2002. Biogenic amines Quality index of freshness in red and white meat. Food Control 13 519-524. 

---