Biogenic amines in krill meal: Liquid chromatographic determination with post-column derivatization and fluorescence detection

Summary

Biogenic amines are formed by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids and represent a considerable toxicological risk in some food products. This method is intended for quantification of histamine, cadaverine and putrescine in krill meal down to 10 mg/kg, which was determined to be a reasonable quantification limit. The method uses liquid chromatography with OPA (o-Phthaldialdehyde) as derivatization reagent followed by fluorescence detection. Recovery experiments showed that the recovery of the amines is good, between 88 and 108 %, for all concentration levels (approximately 2.40-120 mg/kg). The method is fit for purpose. This report is a continuation of Nofima report 15/2015 “Histamine in fish: Liquid chromatographic determination with post-column derivatization and fluorescence detection”, and some chapters are equivalent to report 15/2015.