Editorial: Biogenic amines in foods

Biogenic amines (BA) are nitrogenous compounds of low molecular weight and are essential at low concentrations for natural metabolic and physiological functions in animals, plants, and microorganisms. Histamine, putrescine, cadaverine, tyramine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine and spermidine are the most important BA in foods in which they are mainly produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids. Many factors influence BA production in foods, including food physico-chemical parameters (NaCl, pH and ripening temperature), storage, and distribution conditions, manufacturing processes and practices, presence of decarboxylase-positive microorganisms, raw material quality, and availability of free amino acids (Linares et al., 2012). Nonetheless, consumption of food or beverages containing high amounts of these compounds can have toxic effects such as hypertension, cardiac palpitations, headache, nausea, diarrhea, flushing, and localized inflammation; in extreme cases the intoxication may have fatal outcome. The degree of BA intoxication depends on the amount and type of BA ingested and the correct functioning of the detoxification system. In fact, after food consumption, small quantities of BA are commonly metabolized in the human gut to physiologically less active forms through the activity of the amine oxidizing enzymes, monoamine and diamine oxidases. So the toxic level of BA ingested is difficult to establish, as this depends on the individual sensitivity and health status of consumers. Moreover the malfunction or reduced activity of amine oxidase can result in high BA blood levels, whereas people taking drugs with amino oxidase inhibitor and/or alcohol show interaction with the detoxification system. Among intoxications related with BA there is the " Scombroid poisoning " caused by histamine which is the only BA with regulatory limits, set by European Commission, up to a maximum of 200 mg/kg in fresh fish and 400 mg/kg in fishery products treated by enzyme maturation in brine (Visciano et al., 2012, 2014). After fish, cheese is the next most commonly implicated food item associated with tyramine poisoning, so called " Cheese reaction, " related with its high content in aged cheeses (Schirone et al., 2012). Other potentially BA, specially histamine and putrescine are also present in milk-based fermented foods (Linares et al., 2012). Moreover in fermented beverages, such as wine, it is very difficult to minimize content of BA, that are produced mainly through the decarboxylation of amino acids by yeasts during fermentation and/or lactic acid bacteria during malolactic fermentation. In particular vintage, grape variety, geographical region, and vinification methods such as grape skin maceration …