Bioactive amines in soy sauce: validation of method, occurrence and potential health effects

The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of bioactive amines in soy sauce. A method for the extraction of amines was optimized and an ion pair-HPLC method was validated. Overall, tyramine was the prevalent amine, followed by putrescine, histamine, phenylethylamine and cadaverine. The concentrations of amines varied widely among samples. The brands could be divided into two groups. The first one contained three amines; there was prevalence of cadaverine followed by tyramine and putrescine; and total amine levels were low. The second group contained four amines; there was prevalence of tyramine followed by histamine, phenylethylamine and putrescine; and total amine levels were high. A brand with lower NaCl levels contained significantly higher amine levels. Based on the levels of amines detected, a high percentage of samples could cause adverse effects to human health.