Liquid chromatographic determination of biogenic amines in fermented foods after derivatization with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride

The reagent 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride (DNBZ-Cl) was tested for pre-column derivatization of biogenic amines (BAs). Samples were derivatized within 3 min in 1 M NaOH at ambient temperature by adding 2-propanole and 50 mM DNBZ-Cl in acetonitrile. The reaction was terminated by addition of 2 M HCl. For high-performance liquid chromatography an encapsulated stationary reversed-phase and gradient elution using a ternary gradient system were used. The DNBZ derivatives were quantified by their UV-absorption at 260 nm. The structures of the derivatives were elucidated using coupling of HPLC with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Detection limits of BAs were approximately 124–864 μg l−1 (injected amounts 203–1410 pg) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1. The coefficients of determination were 0.989–0.996, with the exceptions of cadaverine (0.976) and serotonin (0.965). The method was applied to the quantitative determination of agmatine, cadaverine, histamine, octopamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, serotonin, spermidine, spermine, tryptamine and tyramine, in fermented cabbage juices, soy sauces, Misos (soy pastes), fermented fish sauces, and anchovy paste.