Determination of the biogenic amines in musts and wines before and after malolactic fermentation using 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate as the derivatizing agent

An accurate, rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is reported for the determination of four biogenic amines in red and white wine samples. The method involves derivatization with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) followed by liquid chromatography gradient elution analysis without any other sample pretreatment. The procedure developed permitted the determination of the four amines in 40 min. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values ranged from 3.1% to 6.1% in peak areas and the response was linear (R2 > 0.994) in a range from 0.1 to 4 mg/l. Leaving aside putrescine in Tempranillo wines, the malolactic fermentation did not exert any effect on the concentration of these compounds. On the contrary, the influence of the grape variety was important, and Tempranillo wines showed higher levels of tyramine and histamine and lesser of putrescine and cadaverine (p < 0.05) than wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon.