Determination of biogenic amines formation by autochthonous lactic acid bacteria from 'Refosk' grapes using different analytical methods

Different analytical methods were tested and optimized for the determination of four biogenic amines (BA) histamine, putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine produced by grape-associated lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Autochthonous LAB were isolated from `RefoSk' grapes belonging to Slovenian-Italian Karst region as they represent a potential pool of beneficial LAB starter bacteria for improving the typicality and quality of wine. Six isolated strains were screened by multiplex PCR, of which four strains were positive for BA-forming genes (MKBT-49, MKBT-282, MKBT-568, MKBT-570). The production of BA was evaluated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and enzymatic method. The HPLC-DAD results showed that strain MKBT-49 (tyrdc+) had high tyramine production (386.6 +/- 0.14 mg/L), which was confirmed by TLC. The ability to produce putrescine was confirmed in strain MKBT-282 by PCR, HPLC-DAD (16.4 +/- 1.72 mg/L), and TLC. Histamine-producing ability was detected in strain MKBT-570, with a concentration below the limit of detection of the HPLC-DAD (<0.2 mg/L), while the other two methods were not sensitive enough for confirmation. This study shows that the production of BA can detected in native LAB and that relatively simple method such as TLC can be used effectively for the initial screening.