Biogenic amines and potential histamine - Forming bacteria in Rihaakuru (a cooked fish paste)

Aishath Naila; Steve Flint; Graham C Fletcher; Phil J Bremer; Gerrit Meerdink

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.03.057

Biogenic amines and potential histamine - Forming bacteria in Rihaakuru (a cooked fish paste)

Food Chem. 2011 Sep 15;128(2):479-84. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.03.057. Epub 2011 Mar 15.

Authors

Aishath Naila¹, Steve Flint², Graham C Fletcher³, Phil J Bremer⁴, Gerrit Meerdink⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222 Palmerston North, New Zealand. Electronic address: a_naila@hotmail.com.
² Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222 Palmerston North, New Zealand.
³ Food Safety and Preservation, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Food Science, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁵ Department of Food Manufacture and Process Technology, University of Lincoln - Holbeach Campus, Park Road, Holbeach PE12 7PT, United Kingdom.

PMID: 25212159
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.03.057

Abstract

The biogenic amine concentration in Rihaakuru (a fish paste) (n=28), obtained from different parts of the Maldives (North, South, and Central), was determined by HPLC. Ten biogenic amines were detected; agmatine, not detected (ND) - 161ppm; cadaverine, ND - 387ppm; histamine, ND - 5487ppm; putrescine, ND - 290ppm; phenylethylamine, ND - 23ppm; serotonin, ND - 91ppm; spermine, ND - 329ppm; spermidine, ND - 79ppm; tryptamine, ND - <5ppm; and tyramine, ND - 50ppm. Nine biogenic amines were found in 3 samples, 8 in 10 samples, 7 in 6 samples, 6 in 3 samples, 4 in 5 samples, and 1 was found in 1 sample. Histamine was detected at levels that are regarded as a risk to human health. Fourteen isolates were selected from two randomly selected samples out of the 28 samples of Rihaakuru and screened for histamine production. Twelve of the 14 isolates produced histamine, with the highest histamine producers being Bacillus massiliensis Nai5 (6.65ppm) and Bacillus polyfermenticus (5.58ppm); while Bacillus malacitensis produced the least (<0.5ppm).

Keywords: Bacteria; Biogenic amines; Histamine; Maldives; Rihaakuru; Scombroid poisoning.