O risco das aminas biogênicas nos alimentos

Essential Oils Against Spoilage in Fish and Seafood: Impact on Product Quality and Future Challenges

The preservation of fish and seafood represents a significant challenge for the food industry due to these products' high susceptibility to microbial spoilage. Essential oils (EOs), classified as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), have become a natural alternative to synthetic preservatives due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This review aims to analyze the specific potential of EOs in extending the shelf life of fish and seafood products, offering a natural and effective preservation solution. It provides a detailed overview of EOs applications and mechanisms, highlighting their role in controlling spoilage microorganisms while maintaining product quality. The main methods of EOs application include immersion, spraying, and pipetting, with antimicrobial effectiveness influenced by factors such as concentration, exposure time, and food characteristics like chemical composition and biofilms. Direct EOs application shows challenges that can be countered by exploring nanoemulsion technology as an effective strategy to enhance EOs stability and controlled release, maximizing their preservation impact. Additionally, coatings made from chitosan, gelatin, Farsi gum, and carrageenan, combined with EOs such as oregano, clove, and thyme have shown efficacy in preserving species like rainbow trout, mackerel, and shrimp. However, the commercial feasibility of using EOs in fish preservation depends on consumer acceptance and regulatory compliance. This review offers valuable insights for the industry and researchers by highlighting the practical applications and commercial challenges of EOs in seafood products, underscoring the importance of consumer acceptance and regulatory adherence for market viability.

The Potential of Traditional ‘Gaja’ and New Breed Lines of Waxy, Blue and Purple Wheat in Wholemeal Flour Fermentation

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the acidity, microbiological and colour characteristics, fatty (FA) and amino (AA) acid profiles, biogenic amine (BA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations, and macro- and microelement contents in non-treated (non-fermented) and fermented wholemeal cereal flours of ‘Gaja’ (traditional wheat) and new breed lines DS8888-3-6 (waxy wheat), DS8548-7 (blue wheat) and DS8535-2 (purple wheat). Independent fermentations were undertaken with selected strains of Pediococcus acidilactici, Liquorilactobacillus uvarum and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. The results revealed that all the wholemeal cereal flours of the analysed wheat varieties are suitable for fermentation with the selected strains because all the fermented samples showed lactic acid bacteria (LAB) viable counts higher than 8.00 log10 CFU/g and desirable low pH values. In most of the cases, fermentation increased the concentration of essential amino acids in the wholemeal cereal samples, and the LAB strain used for fermentation proved to be a significant factor in all the essential amino acid content of wholemeal wheat (p ≤ 0.0001). When comparing the non-fermented samples, the highest GABA content was found in ‘Gaja’ and waxy wheat samples (2.47 µmol/g, on average), and, in all the cases, fermentation significantly increased GABA concentration in the wholemeal cereals. On the other hand, total levels of biogenic amines in wholemeal samples ranged from 22.7 to 416 mg/kg. The wheat variety was a significant factor in all the analysed macro- and microelement contents (p ≤ 0.0001) in the wholemeal cereals. Furthermore, fermentation showed to be a significant factor in most of the FA content of the wholemeal cereal samples. Finally, fermentation can also contribute to improving the biological and functional value of wholemeal wheat flours (by increasing essential amino acids and GABA concentrations); however, safety parameters (e.g., biogenic amines) also should be taken into consideration when optimizing the most appropriate technological parameters.

Effect of Mixed Starters on Proteolysis and Formation of Biogenic Amines in Dry Fermented Mutton Sausages

In this study, by comparing the four groups of sausages, namely, CO (without starter culture), LB (with Lactobacillus sakei), LS (with L. sakei 3X-2B + Staphylococcus xylosus SZ-8), and LSS (with L. sakei 3X-2B + S. xylosus SZ-8 + S. carnosus SZ-2), the effects of mixed starter cultures on physical-chemical quality, proteolysis, and biogenic amines (BAs) during fermentation and ripening were investigated. Inoculation of the mixed starter cultures increased the number of lactic acid bacteria and staphylococci in sausages during fermentation and ripening for 0 to 5 days. The L. sakei 3X-2B + S. xylosus SZ-8 + S. carnosus SZ-2 mixed starter accelerated the rate of acid production and water activity reduction of sausages and improved the redness value. Compared with CO, the mixed starter effectively inhibited Enterobacteriaceae. At the end of ripening, the LSS group was approximately 1.25 CFU/g, which was less than the CO group, thereby reducing the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) in the LSS group. The free amino acids in the LS and LSS groups (224.97 and 235.53 mg/kg dry sausage, respectively) were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than that in the CO group (170.93 mg/kg dry sausage). The level of histamine, cadaverine, putrescine, and common BAs showed an opposite trend to the increase of the corresponding precursor amino acid content, which were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the LS and LSS sausages than in CO. This study showed that L. sakei 3X-2B + S. xylosus SZ-8 + S. carnosus SZ-2 is a potential mixed starter for fermented meat products.

Colorimetric detection of food freshness based on amine-responsive dopamine polymerization on gold nanoparticles

Biogenic amines (BAs) are not only well-known indicators for food freshness but can cause serious harm to the body after excessive consumption, which makes the determination of its content in food of great significance. In this work, a simple and convenient method for colorimetric detection of BAs was developed based on the sensitivity of the polymerization of dopamine to the presence of BAs on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Taking histamine as a representative, the system exhibited a distinct color change from wine red to black among the amine concentration of 1-100 μg/mL with the detection limit of 2.8 μg/mL. The detection system also exhibited sensitivity to other common kinds of BAs, such as putrescine, cadaverine, spermine, spermidine, tyramine, and tryptamine. Moreover, the proposed method showed encouraging performance in visual detection of the freshness of real samples, which provided a new approach for food quality and freshness evaluation.

A review on biogenic amines in food and feed: toxicological aspects, impact on health and control measures

Biogenic amines (BAs) represent a considerable toxicological risk in some food and feed products. They are formed under unhygienic conditions during storage and processing; therefore, an increase in the concentrations of those metabolites is related to putrefaction. Because BAs are thermostable, they remain in food and feed that have undergone heat treatment. There are several toxicological effects, especially caused by histamine, when high concentrations of BAs are ingested by humans, depending on the food itself and also on individual susceptibility and individual health status. The present paper reviews the main BAs in meat products, their use as spoilage indicators, the risk on human health and also the contamination of by-product meals. Furthermore, we highlight the state of art regarding impact of BAs on poultry, meat and eggs.