Biogenic amines are toxic substances that cause disease in humans and animals. Biogenic amine concentration, especially high levels of histamine, found in fish products such as mackerel and sardines, both deteriorates the quality of fish and threatens human health. Histamine analysis plays an important role in reaching such consumers safely.

Histamine formation in fish is not possible to understand by looking at the external appearance, odor or color of the fish. Even if there is no change in these sensory properties, the fish may contain high levels of histamine. Therefore, the presence and amount of histamine, especially in fish species such as tuna, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and sardines, can only be determined by a number of chemical analysis methods. This type of fish contains a lot of free histidine amino acids and the enzymes in it convert histamine into histamine. The accumulation of histamine causes poisoning in humans.

There are various methods of histamine analysis in fish. The most commonly used method is High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and LC-MS / MS.

The HPLC method is the most preferred method for the separation of non-volatile or easily degradable chemical compounds in quantitative assays. In this method, the components dissolved in the liquid are interacted and the components are separated from each other.

LC-MS / MS method can be explained as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer. In this method, the mass analysis capabilities of the mass spectrometer are combined with the physical separation properties of liquid chromatography. This technique, which is a highly sensitive and powerful technique, can achieve results even in the presence of other chemicals.

Histamine analysis of fish, canned fish and frozen fish is carried out in authorized laboratories within the scope of chemical tests. In these studies, the standards published by local and foreign organizations and the test methods accepted worldwide are complied with.