ABSTRACT
Biogenic amines are described as a group of low molecular weight, heat stable, non-volatile, basic nitrogenous compounds with biological activity. They can be formed and degraded as a result of normal metabolic activity in animals, plants, and microorganisms, and are usually produced by the decarboxylation of free amino acids or by amination and transamination of aldehydes and ketones. They are involved in natural biological processes, such as synaptic transmission, blood pressure control, allergic response, and cellular growth control. They regulate many functions in the brain, including endocrine secretion, cognitive function, aggression, sleep and waking, emotional states, motivation, reward circuitry, decision making, and learning and memory. In plants, the biogenic amines in raw vegetables are usually present both as free bases and conjugated with other molecules, like phenolic acid and proteins, with levels depending on variety, ripening stage, and storage conditions. They have been connected with many cell processes, including cell division and differentiation, synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, membrane stability, pH, thermic or osmotic stress responses, and delay in senescence. Different plant foods contain various biogenic amines. Also, biogenic amine accumulation in foods is affected by many factors. Plants undergo continuous exposure to various biotic and abiotic stresses in their natural environment. Abiotic stresses cause losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year due to reduction in crop productivity and crop failure. In fact, these stresses threaten the sustainability of the agricultural industry. The world population is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to reach about six billion by the end of year 2050. Many techniques for the detection of biogenic amines have been published, mostly based on chromatographic techniques.
In food and plants, the main origin of biogenic amines, known as neurotransmitters, are plants and microorganisms. Since the most frequent foodborne intoxication and intolerance play important roles in cell proliferation, and differentiation involves biogenic amines, this work will focus on their formation, how they poison the body, control and detection methods, and the regulation industry around biogenic amines.
