Journal of Advanced Mass Spectroscopy

Simple, reliable determination of biogenic amines in Italian red wines. Direct analysis of underivatized biogenic amines by LC-ESI-MS

Giuliana Vinci, Laura Gobbi, Lucia Maddaloni, Sabrina Antonia Prencipe

Aminesare ubiquitous bioactive compounds which may be both essential and harmful to human health1. They represent a class of organic, basic, and low-molecular weight compounds which can be natural/endogenous or exogenous in metabolism of plants, microorganisms and animals2. When originating from a natural metabolic pathway they are called “natural polyamines” and have physiological functions, especially for cellular metabolism as they are fundamental in membrane stabilization, protein synthesis and nucleic acid regulation3. Whereas, when they are synthetized through a microbial decarboxylation of the corresponding amino acids, they are defined Biogenic Amines (BAs), and are usually implicated into toxicological reactions4.

BAs contamination in food involves symptoms that are similar to those of food poisoning: migraine headaches, nausea, gastric disorders, cardiac palpitations, respiratory suffering and psychoactive effects5,6.Biogenic aminescan be synthesized both in fresh and perishable food(e.g. meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, etc.),which are directly exposed to decarboxylase-positive microorganisms7;as well as fermented and/or processed food (e.g. wine, beer, cheese, coffee, chocolate, etc.) as a direct consequence of their transformation process (e.g. alcoholic and lactic fermentation)8,9.BAs concentration mainly depends onthe protein composition of food matrix and the content of free amino acids, and it is also influenced by the presence of contaminating micro-organismsthat can be naturally present or added as starter cultureduring the transformation process10. However,BAs amount can be also linked tofood storage and contamination, caused by non-adequate hygienic conditions11.

Mass Spectroscopy: What is it and what are its Types?

Suryakiran Navath

Mass spectroscopy or mass spectrometry is the process of analyzing samples of an element or mixture in order to determine the mass to charge ratio of its components on a mass spectrum.