HPLC determination of histamine, Tyramine and Amino acids in shrimp by-products

Abstract

Biogenic amines in high concentration can affect the quality of foods and cause several diseases since they are present in products like seafood, wines, and other fermented products. Shrimp by-products are a rich source of protein hydrolysate that can be used as dietary supplements. Samples (from shrimp by-products) of dry protein powder, liquid protein hydrolysate and flour of shrimp head were analyzed to evaluate the histamine and tyramine contents. Amines were extracted with trichloroacetic acid 5% and derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde. The chromatographic separation was performed in an analytical column, Chrom SEP SS C18 5 μm (4.6 mm × 150 mm) and a fluorescence detector was used with wavelengths at λex = 335 nm and λem = 440 nm. The mobile phase was a mixture of tetrahydrofuran, methanol and phosphate buffer at a flow rate of 0.6 mL min-1 using elution gradient. Under these conditions, the repeatability (relative standard deviation, RSD < 6.55%), reproducibility (< 5.60%) and accuracy were of satisfying quality. The recovery values were 84.51, 90.75, 95.37, 98.68 and 84.29% for L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, L-lysine, tyramine and histamine, respectively. This method has been successfully applied for the quantification of precursor amino acids and biogenic amines in different matrices. © 2012 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.