Biochemical Techniques and Instrumentation

Determination of Histamine by Spectrofluorometric method

Histamine is formed by the bacterial decarboxylation of amino acid, histidine. Histamine causes food poisoning to human beings and was earlier known as “scombroid poisoning”. Later it was found that even non-scombroid fishes such as sardines, herring and mahi-mahi also cause histamine poisoning. The FAO has recommended a maximum allowable limit for histamine in fish as 10 mg%. Histamine can be determined in fish by fluorometric and chromatographic methods. In fluorometric analysis, histamine is eluted from fish by butanolic extraction through followed by purification by ion exchange resin prior to fluorimetric analysis.