Development of an Analytical Method for the Simultaneous Measurement of 10 Biogenic Amines in Meat: Application to Beninese Grilled Pork Samples

A UPLC-fluorescence method has been developed to evaluate the concentration of ten biogenic amines, as dansylated derivatives, in food. The sample preparation consisted of a solid-liquid extraction with perchloric acid, followed by the dansylation of the extracted amines. The analysis was performed using an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column on a UPLC Acquity system (Waters) with a fluorescence detector. Two reference materials consisting of tuna muscle incurred with histamine were used to evaluate the performances of the following method: selectivity, specificity, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision, and accuracy. The averages of the measured values were evaluated at 98.7% and 96.8% of the expected values, for the two materials. The developed method was applied to quantify biogenic amines in grilled meat from Beninese markets. The biogenic amines index was calculated for each sample. In this study, ten samples can be considered as fresh with values lower than 5 mg/kg, while one sample is considered as acceptable (16.9 mg/kg) and one sample is considered as spoiled (82.8 mg/kg). Tryptamine and 2-phenylethylamine samples were not detected but methylamine and putrescine were detected at concentrations lower than their limit of quantification. Serotonin, spermidine, and spermine were detected in all samples. No link between the biogenic amine concentrations and the cooking conditions was observed. Because the biogenic amines are not heat sensitive, the measured concentrations of biogenic amines in this study could be explained by bad hygienic conditions during meat storage before cooking. It means that the Beninese population may be exposed to sometimes high biogenic amines content, leading to allergies or other more serious health problems.