Efficiency of Different Extraction Solvents on Recovery of Histamine from Fresh, Frozen and Canned Fish

Background: Histamine is a food-borne chemical hazard which causes scombroid poison-ing. The efficiency of histamine recovery from fish is greatly influenced by selection of an appropriate extraction solvent. Hence, in this study the efficiency of different extraction sol-vents on recovery of histamine from fresh, frozen and canned fish was evaluated. Methods: Fresh, frozen and canned rainbow trout samples were homogenized in six differ-ent extraction solvents including 0.1 N hydrochloric acid, 5% trichloroacetic acid, 75% methanol, 75% ethanol, 75% methanol-0.4 N hydrochloric acid and 75% ethanol-0.4 N hy-drochloric acid. Samples were evaluated for recovery of known quantities of histamine add-ed to fish tissue prior to extraction. The percent values of the recoveries were compared us-ing ANOVA (SPSS 16.0). Results: Findings of this experiment indicated that different extraction solvents provided different overall mean recoveries for histamine in fish tissue. Using a combination of acid and organic solvents provided a more efficient extraction solvent for histamine from fish tis-sue than acid or organic solvents alone. In addition, among the solvents used in this study, 75% ethanol-0.4 N HCl resulted in a more complete recovery of added histamine from fresh, frozen and canned fish tissue. Conclusion: In order to obtain a more accurate measure of histamine in fish tissue, 75% ethanol-0.4 N hydrochloric acid appears to be a good choice for extraction.