Profile and levels of bioactive amines in instant coffee

Determination of 8 biogenic amines in aquatic products and their derived products by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry without derivatization

A method for the determination of 8 biogenic amines in aquatic products and their derived products was established by HPLC-MS/MS without derivatization. The samples were extracted by 5% perchloric acid solution. N-hexane was used to clean the extract. The analytes were separated by a column of ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm), and gradient eluted with a mixed solution of (0.5% formic acid) and acetonitrile. Good linearity was obtained with correlation coefficients (R²) >0.99. This method achieved higher sensitivity (from 0.1 mg/kg for tyramine, 2-phenylethylamine and tryptamine to 1.0 mg/kg for spermidine, spermine, cadaverin, histamine and putrescine). The average recoveries were demonstrated in the range of 70.9%-113.1%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) from 0.33% to 10.81%. This method was suitable for the detection of BAs in aquatic products and their products.

Carbohydrates as targeting compounds to produce infusions resembling espresso coffee brews using quality by design approach

All coffee brews are prepared with roasted coffee and water, giving origin to espresso, instant, or filtered coffee, exhibiting distinct physicochemical properties, depending on the extraction conditions. The different relative content of compounds in the brews modulates coffee body, aroma, and colour. In this study it was hypothesized that a coffee infusion allows to obtain extracts that resemble espresso coffee (EC) physicochemical properties. Carbohydrates (content and composition) were the target compounds as they are organoleptically important for EC due to their association to foam stability and viscosity. The freeze-drying of the extracts allowed better dissolution properties than spray-drying. Instant coffee powders were obtained with chemical overall composition resembling espresso, although with lower lipids content. The extracts were able to produce the characteristic foam through CO₂ injection or salts addition. Their redissolution at espresso concentration allowed a viscosity, foamability and volatile profile representative of an espresso coffee, opening new exploitation possibilities.

Biogenic Amines in Alcohol-Free Beverages

Biogenic amines are ubiquitous bioactive compounds that are synthesized by living organisms and perform essential functions for their metabolism. In the human diet, their excessive intake can cause food poisoning. In food, especially in alcohol-free beverages, biogenic amines can be synthesized by enzymes, naturally present in raw materials, or by microorganisms, which may be naturally present in the matrix or be added during beverage transformation processes. For this reason, in alcohol-free beverages, biogenic amine amount can be considered, above a certain level, as undesired microorganism activity. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the biogenic amine profile of non-alcoholic beverages in order to monitor food quality and safety. Moreover, biogenic amines can be taken into account by industries in order to monitor production processes and products. This review article provides an overview on the biogenic amine profile of alcohol-free beverages (plant milk, nervine drinks, soft drinks, and fruit juices). Furthermore, the clinical and toxicological effects, the biogenic amines legislation, and biogenic amine synthesis have been evaluated in non-alcoholic beverages.

Can Elevated Air [CO2] Conditions Mitigate the Predicted Warming Impact on the Quality of Coffee Bean?

Climate changes, mostly related to high temperature, are predicted to have major negative impacts on coffee crop yield and bean quality. Recent studies revealed that elevated air [CO₂] mitigates the impact of heat on leaf physiology. However, the extent of the interaction between elevated air [CO₂] and heat on coffee bean quality was never addressed. In this study, the single and combined impacts of enhanced [CO₂] and temperature in beans of Coffea arabica cv. Icatu were evaluated. Plants were grown at 380 or 700 μL CO₂ L^-1 air, and then submitted to a gradual temperature rise from 25°C up to 40°C during ca. 4 months. Fruits were harvested at 25°C, and in the ranges of 30-35 or 36-40°C, and bean physical and chemical attributes with potential implications on quality were then examined. These included: color, phenolic content, soluble solids, chlorogenic, caffeic and p-coumaric acids, caffeine, trigonelline, lipids, and minerals. Most of these parameters were mainly affected by temperature (although without a strong negative impact on bean quality), and only marginally, if at all, by elevated [CO₂]. However, the [CO₂] vs. temperature interaction strongly attenuated some of the negative impacts promoted by heat (e.g., total chlorogenic acids), thus maintaining the bean characteristics closer to those obtained under adequate temperature conditions (e.g., soluble solids, caffeic and p-coumaric acids, trigonelline, chroma, Hue angle, and color index), and increasing desirable features (acidity). Fatty acid and mineral pools remained quite stable, with only few modifications due to elevated air [CO₂] (e.g., phosphorous) and/or heat. In conclusion, exposure to high temperature in the last stages of fruit maturation did not strongly depreciate bean quality, under the conditions of unrestricted water supply and moderate irradiance. Furthermore, the superimposition of elevated air [CO₂] contributed to preserve bean quality by modifying and mitigating the heat impact on physical and chemical traits of coffee beans, which is clearly relevant in a context of predicted climate change and global warming scenarios.

Extraction Efficiency of Different Solvents and LC-UV Determination of Biogenic Amines in Tea Leaves and Infusions

Biogenic amines (BAs), that is, spermine, spermidine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine, β-phenylethylamine, cadaverine, and serotonin, have been determined in several samples of tea leaves, tea infusions, and tea drinks by LC-UV method after derivatization with dansyl chloride. Different extraction solvents have been tested and TCA 5% showed better analytical performances in terms of linearity, recovery percentages, LOD, LOQ, and repeatability than HCl 0.1 M and HClO4 0.1 M and was finally exploited for the quantitative determination of BAs in all samples. In tea leaves total BAs concentration ranged from 2.23 μg g(-1) to 11.24 μg g(-1) and PUT (1.05-2.25 μg g(-1)) and SPD (1.01-1.95 μg g(-1)) were always present, while SER (nd-1.56 μg g(-1)), HIS (nd-2.44 μg g(-1)), and SPM (nd-1.64 μg g(-1)) were detected more rarely. CAD and PHE were determined in few samples at much lower concentrations while none of the samples contained TYR. Tea infusions showed the same trend with total BAs concentrations never exceeding 80.7 μg L(-1). Black teas showed higher amounts of BAs than green teas and organic and decaffeinated samples always contained much lower BAs levels than their conventional counterparts.

Health effects and occurrence of dietary polyamines: a review for the period 2005-mid 2013

This review continues a previous one (Kalač & Krausová, 2005). Dietary polyamines spermidine and spermine participate in an array of physiological roles with both favourable and injurious effects on human health. Dieticians thus need plausible information on their content in various foods. The data on the polyamine contents in raw food materials increased considerably during the reviewed period, while information on their changes during processing and storage have yet been fragmentary and inconsistent. Spermidine and spermine originate mainly from raw materials. Their high contents are typical particularly for inner organs and meat of warm-blooded animals, soybean and fermented soybean products and some mushroom species. Generally, polyamine contents range widely within the individual food items.

Melatonin and serotonin profiles in beans of Coffea species

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and an electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) methods were applied to quantify the profiles of melatonin and serotonin (5-HT) in green and roasted beans of Coffea canephora (robusta) and Coffea arabica (arabica). Both melatonin and 5-HT were detected in green coffee beans (5.8±0.8μg/g dry weight (DW), 10.5±0.6μg/g DW) and also in roasted beans of C. canephora (8.0±0.9μg/g DW, 7.3±0.5μg/g DW). Melatonin (3.0±0.6μg/50mL) and 5-HT (4.0±0.7μg/50mL) were detected in coffee brew. In C. arabica, 5-HT was high in green beans (12.5±0.8μg/g DW) compared with roasted beans (8.7±0.4). The levels of melatonin were higher (9.6±0.8μg/g DW) in roasted beans compared with green beans (6.8±0.4μg/g DW). Both melatonin (3.9±0.2μg/50mL) and 5-HT (7.3±0.6μg/50mL) were detected in coffee brew. Because of the relevance of indoleamines as bioactive molecules with implications for food, nutritional sciences and human health, it was of interest to explore their levels in coffee, an important universal beverage.

Phytoserotonin: a review

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; SER) is one of the well-studied indoleamine neurotransmitter in vertebrates. Recently SER has also been reported in wide range of plant species. The precise function of SER at the physiological level, particularly growth regulation, flowering, xylem sap exudation, ion permeability and plant morphogenesis in plant system has not been clear. Though SER is found in different parts of plant species including leaves, stems, roots, fruits and seeds, the quantity of SER within plant tissues varies widely. SER has been recently shown as a plant hormone in view of its auxin-like activity. This brief review provide an overview of SER biosynthesis, localization, its role in plant morphogenesis and possible physiological functions in plants. This would certainly help to elucidate further the multiple roles of SER in plant morphogenesis. In the future it may form the basis for studies on involvement of SER in cellular signaling mechanisms in plants. Apart from these gaps in understanding the role of SER in ontogeny of plant physiology and ecological, adaptations have been emphasized. Thus, overall perspectives in this area of research and its possible implications have been presented.