Influence of oenological practices on the formation of biogenic amines in quality red wines

Plant-Mediated Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles with Matricaria chamomilla Aqueous Extract

Magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) possess properties that make them suitable for a wide range of applications. In recent years, interest in the synthesis of magnetite NPs and their surface functionalization has increased significantly, especially regarding their application in biomedicine such as for controlled and targeted drug delivery. There are several conventional methods for preparing magnetite NPs, all of which mostly utilize Fe(iii) and Fe(ii) salt precursors. In this study, we present a microwave hydrothermal synthesis for the precipitation of magnetite NPs at temperatures of 200 °C for 20 min and 260 °C for 5 min, with only iron(iii) as a precursor utilizing chamomile flower extract as a stabilizing, capping, and reducing agent. Products were characterized using FTIR, PXRD, SEM, and magnetometry. Our analysis revealed significant differences in the properties of magnetite NPs prepared with this approach, and the conventional two-precursor hydrothermal microwave method (sample MagH). FTIR and PXRD analyses confirmed coated magnetite particles. The temperature and magnetic-field dependence of magnetization indicate their superparamagnetic behavior. Importantly, the results of our study show the noticeable cytotoxicity of coated magnetite NPs-toxic to carcinoma cells but harmless to healthy cells-further emphasizing the potential of these NPs for biomedical applications.

Mitigation of microbial nitrogen-derived metabolic hazards as a driver for safer alcoholic beverage choices: An evidence-based review and future perspectives

Alcoholic beverages have been enjoyed worldwide as hedonistic commodities for thousands of years. The unique quality and flavor are attributed to the rich microbiota and nutritional materials involved in fermentation. However, the metabolism of these microbiota can also introduce toxic compounds into foods. Nitrogen-derived metabolic hazards (NMH) are toxic metabolic hazards produced by microorganisms metabolizing nitrogen sources that can contaminate alcoholic beverages during fermentation and processing. NMH contamination poses a risk to dietary safety and human health without effective preventive strategies. Existing literature has primarily focused on investigating the causes of NMH formation, detection methods, and abatement techniques for NMH in fermentation end-products. Devising effective process regulation strategies represents a major challenge for the alcoholic beverage industry considering our current lack of understanding regarding the processes whereby NMH are generated, real-time and online detection, and the high degradation rate after NMH formation. This review summarizes the types and mechanisms of nitrogenous hazard contamination, the potential risk points, and the analytical techniques to detect NMH contamination. We discussed the changing patterns of NMH contamination and effective strategies to prevent contamination at different stages in the production of alcoholic beverages. Moreover, we also discussed the advanced technologies and methods to control NMH contamination in alcoholic beverages based on intelligent monitoring, synthetic ecology, and computational assistance. Overall, this review highlights the risks of NMH contamination during alcoholic beverage production and proposes promising strategies that could be adopted to eliminate the risk of NMH contamination.

Atypical ageing defect in Pinot Blanc wines: a comparison between organic and conventional production management systems

BACKGROUND

Atypical ageing (ATA) is an aroma defect that occurs in white wines and entails a loss of varietal aromas as well as scents of wet mop, shoe polish and dish rag. 2-Aminoacetophenone (2AAP) - a degradation product of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) - has been described as the main odour-active compound and chemical marker responsible for this off-flavour. A stress reaction in the vineyard triggered by climatic, pedological and viticultural factors can ultimately cause ATA development in wines and remarkably affect wine quality. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of three grapevine management systems on the occurrence of ATA. The experiments were carried out on Pinot Blanc grape samples from vines cultivated using one conventional and two organic approaches. The management systems mainly differed for the fertilisation regime and the weed control.

RESULTS

The amino acid profiles as well as 2AAP and its precursors were quantified in musts and wines using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer. The results showed the existence of a strong vintage effect, while no influence of the use of different agronomic systems was observed.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed that an efficient implementation of different grapevine production systems did not affect ATA development in Pinot Blanc wines. This finding is of great relevance for winegrowers and winemakers as it demonstrates that a well-planned organic management system correctly adjusted to the climatic conditions does not pose a threat towards the development of ATA-related compounds in wine. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The content of biogenic amines in Rondo and Zweigelt wines and correlations between selected wine parameters

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content of biogenic amines (BAs) in wines using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (DLLME-GC-MS). An additional objective was to assess the correlations between selected parameters characterizing the samples such as the content of BAs, sugars, and organic acids, pH, and total acidity. Wines produced from the same grape variety in which alcoholic fermentation (AF) was carried out by different yeast strains and in which malolactic fermentation (MLF) was spontaneous, differed in the content of biogenic amines. The concentrations of putrescine, cadaverine and tryptamine were higher in the Rondo wines (237-405, 34.04-61.11, <LOD-12.456 µg/L, respectively) and Zweigelt wines (416-489, 72.67-88.43, <LOD-13.083 µg/L, respectively) subjected to spontaneous MLF than in the wines subjected to induced MLF. Chemometric analysis allowed us to determine correlations between selected wine parameters. The wine samples are well separated into two patterns depending on the grape variety. Despite the fact that information on BAs is not included in databases of wine composition, information on their concentration as well as knowledge of existing correlations between BAs and other wine parameters is crucial and may be useful for the food industry, health professionals and consumers.

Origin, Succession, and Control of Biotoxin in Wine

Wine is a worldwide alcoholic beverage with antioxidant active substances and complex flavors. Moderate drinking of wine has been proven to be beneficial to health. However, wine has some negative components, such as residual pesticides, heavy metals, and biotoxins. Of these, biotoxins from microorganisms were characterized as the most important toxins in wine. Wine fermentation mainly involves alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation, and aging, which endue wine with complex flavors and even produce some undesirable metabolites. These metabolites cause potential safety risks that are not thoroughly understood. This review aimed to investigate the origin, evolution, and control technology of undesirable metabolites (e.g., ochratoxin A, ethyl carbamate, and biogenic amines) in wine. It also highlighted current wine industry practices of minimizing the number of biotoxins in wine.

Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts and Organic Wines Fermentation: Implications on Human Health

A relevant trend in winemaking is to reduce the use of chemical compounds in both the vineyard and winery. In organic productions, synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms must be avoided, aiming to achieve the production of a “safer wine”. Safety represents a big threat all over the world, being one of the most important goals to be achieved in both Western society and developing countries. An occurrence in wine safety results in the recovery of a broad variety of harmful compounds for human health such as amines, carbamate, and mycotoxins. The perceived increase in sensory complexity and superiority of successful uninoculated wine fermentations, as well as a thrust from consumers looking for a more “natural” or “organic” wine, produced with fewer additives, and perceived health attributes has led to more investigations into the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in winemaking, namely in organic wines. However, the use of copper and sulfur-based molecules as an alternative to chemical pesticides, in organic vineyards, seems to affect the composition of grape microbiota; high copper residues can be present in grape must and wine. This review aims to provide an overview of organic wine safety, when using indigenous and/or non-Saccharomyces yeasts to perform fermentation, with a special focus on some metabolites of microbial origin, namely, ochratoxin A (OTA) and other mycotoxins, biogenic amines (BAs), and ethyl carbamate (EC). These health hazards present an increased awareness of the effects on health and well-being by wine consumers, who also enjoy wines where terroir is perceived and is a characteristic of a given geographical area. In this regard, vineyard yeast biota, namely non-Saccharomyces wine-yeasts, can strongly contribute to the uniqueness of the wines derived from each specific region.

Development and Application of a New QuEChERS Method in UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS to Detect Seven Biogenic Amines in Chinese Wines

The aim of this study was to develop and validate an improved, simple, and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of seven types (cadaverine, CAD; hexylamine, HEX; histamine, HIS; phenylethylamine, PEA; putrescine, PUT; tyramine, TYR) of biogenic amines (BAs) in wine matrices. For this reason, a modified QuEChERS combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was investigated. The optimization of UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS separation and QuEChERS procedure was performed. Under optimum conditions, the excellent chromatographic performance of the whole separation was accomplished within 6.3 min analyzing time. Meanwhile, the recoveries ranged from 77.2% to 101.7%, while relative standard deviation (RSD) remained between 0.0% and 9.4%. The limit of detection (LOD, 0.50–1.00 µg/L) and the limit of quantification (LOQ, 1.65–3.30 µg/L) were lower than those permitted by legislation in food matrices, which demonstrated the high sensitivity and applicability of this efficient method. This validated method was also applied in a pilot study to analyze BAs in 81 wine samples from Hexi Corridor Region (Gansu Province, Northwest China), CAD, HEX, HIS, PEA, PUT, and TYR were detected to varying degrees in the samples. However, when compared with the existing standards, the BAs in all 81 wine samples did not exceed the prescribed limit value or toxic dose (2–40 mg/L). Moreover, a statistical approach was also conducted using Pearson correlation analysis, and to evaluate their concentrations in terms of wine parameters (storage time, grape variety, wine type, and basic physicochemical index). The results showed that, among the seven kinds of BAs, the concentration of HIS had a certain correlation with alcoholic degree and grape variety. In addition, the level of PEA had a certain correlation with the wine pH and wine storage time. It is worth noting that this seems to be the first report regarding the application of QuEChERS-UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS in the analysis of BAs in wine in this region.

Neuroactive compounds in foods: Occurrence, mechanism and potential health effects

Neuroactive compounds are synthesized by certain plants and microorganisms by undertaking different tasks, especially as a stress response. Most common neuroactive compounds in foods are gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, melatonin, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, dopamine, norepinephrine, histamine, tryptamine, tyramine and β-phenylethylamine. Fermented foods contain some of these compounds, which can affect human health and mood. Moreover, food processing such as roasting and malting alter amount and profile of neuroactive compounds in foods. In addition to plant-origin and microbially-formed neuroactive compounds in foods, these substances are also formed by gut microbiota, which is the most attractive subject to assess the interaction between gut microbiota and mental health. The discovery of microbiota-gut-brain axis calls for the investigation of the effects of diet on the formation of neuroactive compounds in the gut. Furthermore, probiotics and prebiotics are indispensable elements for the understanding of the food-mood relationship. The focus of this comprehensive review is to investigate the neuroactive compounds found naturally in foods or formed during fermentation. Their formation pathways in humans, plants and microorganisms, potential health effects, effects of diet on the formation of microbial metabolites including neuroactive compounds in the gut are discussed throughout this review. Furthermore, the importance of gut-brain axis, probiotics and prebiotics are discussed.

An Overview on Biogenic Amines in Wine

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight compounds formed from precursor amino acids, mainly by microbial decarboxylation. The presence of these compounds is important in the food and beverage industry because, in high amounts, they can lead to negative effects on consumers. In this review, we illustrate the critical aspects needed to control the formation of BAs during winemaking and their presence in the final product. Recent biotechnological approaches related to microorganisms and their ability to reduce BAs are illustrated. The current methods used for BA detection and quantification are also presented. These methods are very important to consider, as BAs can serve as markers for the quality assessment of products. The information presented here offers an overview useful for identifying specific parameters and conditions which should be controlled to minimise BA content in wine; knowledge about BAs in foods and beverages has been accumulating in recent years, not only to ensure and improve quality (since BAs have been used as an indicator of spoilage) but especially to guarantee consumer safety due to the potential toxic effects of BAs on humans.

The Content of Biogenic Amines in Croatian Wines of Different Geographical Origins

Samples of white and red wines produced in two different wine-growing regions, coastal (Dalmatia) and continental (Hrvatsko zagorje) of Croatia, were analysed for biogenic amines content. Biogenic amines content was determined, and its concentration levels were associated with the geographical origin of the wine. Due to its high sensitivity, HPLC method with ultraviolet detector was used, including the derivatisation step with dansyl chloride. The method was applied to detect and quantify 11 biogenic amines in 48 red and white wines. It was found that both Dalmatian red and white wines are characterised by tryptamine (0.23–1.22 mg L⁻¹), putrescine (0.41–7.5 mg L⁻¹) and ethanolamine (2.87–24.32 mg L⁻¹). White wines from the Hrvatsko zagorje region are characterised by content of isopentylamine (0.31–1.47 mg L⁻¹), putrescine (0.27–1.49 mg L⁻¹) and ethanolamine (3.80–17.96 mg L⁻¹). In contrast to white wines from the Hrvatsko zagorje region, in the red wines, all biogenic amines except ethylamine, were found and equally presented.

Evaluation of the Impact of Storage Conditions on the Biogenic Amines Profile in Opened Wine Bottles

A survey of biogenic amine (BA) profiles in opened wine bottles has been established to monitor the level of biogenic amines (BAs) in opened bottles against time and other conditions. Bottles of red and white wine were submitted to different temperatures, stopper type (screw cap, cork), and use of vacuum devices. A total of six wines made from a variety of grapes were obtained from vineyards from regions across Poland. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (DLLME-GC-MS) procedure for BAs determination was validated and applied for wine sample analysis. The total content of BAs from the set of immediately opened wine samples ranged from 442 to 929 µg/L for white wines, and 669 to 2244 µg/L for red wines. The most abundant BAs in the analysed wines were histamine and putrescine. Considering the commercial availability of the analysed wines, there was no relationship between the presence of BAs in a given wine and their availability on the market. However, it was observed and confirmed by chemometric analysis that the different storage conditions employed in this experiment affect not only the BAs profile, but also the pH.

Accumulation of Biogenic Amines in Wine: Role of Alcoholic and Malolactic Fermentation

Biogenic amines (BAs) are detrimental to health and originate in foods mainly from decarboxylation of the corresponding amino acid by the activity of exogenous enzymes released by various microorganisms. BAs can be generated at different stages of the wine production. Some of them are formed in the vineyard and are normal constituents of grapes with amounts varying with variety, soil type and composition, fertilization and climatic conditions during growth and degree of maturation. BAs can be also formed by the yeasts during the alcoholic fermentation (AF), as well as by the action of bacteria involved in the malolactic fermentation (MLF). As aminogenesis is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon, the studies carried out to identify the main vinification stage of BAs production yielded contradictory results. In particular, there is not a general consensus yet on which fermentation supports mostly the accumulation of BAs in wine. In this context, the aim of the present paper deals with the most recent results related with the influence of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation parameters on BAs-producer microorganism in wine.

Alternative amendment for vineyards from by-products of pyro-bituminous shale: Effect on wine amino acids and biogenic amines

With the aim of looking for a model of agroecological production, the use of by-products from pyro-bituminous shale as amendment, and its effect on wine amino acids and biogenic amines has been evaluated. Field trials aimed to compare the effect of different doses of conventional and limestone shale from by-products of pyro-bituminous. Four replicates for six different fertilization treatments were arranged in a split plot design during 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 vintage. A chromatographic analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of fertilization treatments on the amino acid and biogenic amine content of wines produced. Results showed few significant differences among fertilization treatments tested according to the amino acids composition of wines, although it seemed that a combination of conventional and pyro-bituminous shale could be the best option. By-products of pyro-bituminous shale seem to be a good partial substitutive amendment for Brazilian vineyards. This research seems to be a new approach for sustainable revalorization of domestic fertilizers to enable minor environmental impacts and lower production costs without detriment to quality.

The impacts of temperature, alcoholic degree and amino acids content on biogenic amines and their precursor amino acids content in red wine

The aim was to study how factors such as temperature, alcoholic degree, and amino acids supplementation are able to influence the content of tyramine, histamine, 2-phenylethylamine, tryptamine and their precursor amino acids in winemaking process. Biogenic amines and amino acids were quantified at the beginning, middle and end of alcoholic fermentation, and at the end of malolactic fermentation. In general, samples produced with amino acid supplementation did not show the highest concentrations of biogenic amines, except for histamine, which content increased with the addition of the four amino acids. The synthesis of tyramine was mainly affected by the temperature and alcoholic degree, the formation of phenylethylamine was largely influenced by alcoholic degree, and tryptamine synthesis principally depended on temperature. Interestingly, there was interaction between these three factors for the biogenic amines studied. In conclusion, winemaking conditions should be established depending on the biogenic amine which synthesis is required to be controlled.

Metabolites of Microbial Origin with an Impact on Health: Ochratoxin A and Biogenic Amines

Safety and quality are significant challenges for food; namely, safety represents a big threat all over the world and is one of the most important goal to be achieved in both Western Society and Developing Countries. Wine safety mainly relies upon some metabolites and many of them are of microbial origin. The main goal of this review is a focus on two kinds of compounds (biogenic amines and mycotoxins, mainly Ochratoxin A) for their deleterious effects on health. For each class of compounds, we will focus on two different traits: (a) synthesis of the compounds in wine, with a brief description of the most important microorganisms and factors leading this phenomenon; (b) prevention and/or correction strategies and new trends. In addition, there is a focus on a recent predictive tool able to predict toxin contamination of grape, in order to perform some prevention approaches and achieve safe wine.

Bacteria isolated from Korean black raspberry vinegar with low biogenic amine production in wine

A high concentration of histamine, one of the biogenic amines (BAs) usually found in fermented foods, can cause undesirable physiological side effects in sensitive humans. The objective of this study is to isolate indigenous Acetobacter strains from naturally fermented Bokbunja vinegar in Korea with reduced histamine production during starter fermentation. Further, we examined its physiological and biochemical properties, including BA synthesis. The obtained strain MBA-77, identified as Acetobacter aceti by 16S rDNA homology and biochemical analysis and named A. aceti MBA-77. A. aceti MBA-77 showed optimal acidity % production at pH 5; the optimal temperature was 25 °C. When we prepared and examined the BAs synthesis spectrum during the fermentation process, Bokbunja wine fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that the histamine concentration increased from 2.72 of Bokbunja extract to 5.29 mg/L and cadaverine and dopamine was decreased to 2.6 and 10.12 mg/L, respectively. Bokbunja vinegar prepared by A. aceti MBA-77 as the starter, the histamine concentration of the vinegar preparation step was decreased up to 3.66 mg/L from 5.29 mg/L in the wine preparation step. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate acetic acid bacteria isolated from Bokbunja seed vinegar with low spectrum BA and would be useful for wellbeing vinegar preparation.

A survey on the composition of wines made with grapes produced by an organic system

Summary There is concern about the health problems caused by pesticides in humans, which has led some grape producers to adopt organic procedures in their vineyards, and a certain amount of these grapes are directed to winemaking. Despite the approval awarded to this organic grape production by the certified organizations, there has been a demand to carry out a survey to determine the physicochemical composition of the wine derived from these products. Some of these wines were made from a single grape variety and others from more than one. For this survey, the samples consisted of five bottles of each type of wine, acquired from wineries and supermarkets in the Serra Gaúcha region, RS, Brazil. The analyses were carried out by physicochemical methods: volatile compounds by gas chromatography; minerals and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; and pesticide residues by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that in general the physicochemical composition of these wines was within the limits established by Brazilian legislation. The mineral and trace element concentrations were very low and pesticide residues were not detected (MRL = 10 μg.kg–1) in any of the wines.

Determination of dansylated amino acids and biogenic amines in Cannonau and Vermentino wines by HPLC-FLD

Free amino acids (AA) and biogenic amines (BA) were quantified for the first time in Cannonau and Vermentino wines, the two most popular "Controlled Designation of Origin" wines from Sardinia (Italy). An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of AA and BA was developed, using selective derivatization with dansyl chloride followed by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Thirty-two compounds were identified in the wines analysed. High levels of AA were found, with proline being the most abundant with average levels of 1244 ± 398 and 1008 ± 281 mg/L in Cannonau and Vermentino wines, respectively. BA were detected at average concentrations <10mg/L, except putrescine which reached 20.5 ± 10.2mg/L in Cannonau wines. Histamine was never detected in any Vermentino wines. γ-Aminobutyric acid, 4-hydroxyproline, glycine, leucine+isoleucine and putrescine proved to be useful for differentiating Cannonau wines from Vermentino wines.

Study of the effect of vintage, maturity degree, and irrigation on the amino acid and biogenic amine content of a white wine from the Verdejo variety

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of three factors directly related to the amino acid content of grapes and their interaction. These three factors were vintage, maturity degree and irrigation. The evolution of amino acid was also assessed during the winemaking along with the effect of maturity and irrigation on the biogenic amine formation. The grapes used for this study were of the Verdejo variety.

RESULTS

The results indicated that there was a strong vintage effect on amino acid content in grapes, which seemed to be clearly related to climatic conditions. The effect of maturity on amino acid content depended on vintage, irrigation and the amino acid itself although it was observed that irrigation caused the increase of most amino acids present in the berry. Irrigation did not affect the evolution of nitrogen compounds during the alcoholic fermentation process but the maturity degree in some of the amino acids tested did so. No direct relationship could be established between irrigation or maturity degree and biogenic amines. However, it should be noted that the biogenic amine content was very low.

CONCLUSIONS

Vintage has a strong effect on the amino acid content in grapes which appears to be related to weather conditions. No direct relationship has been found between irrigation or maturity degree and biogenic amines content. Furthermore, it is noted that biogenic amine content found in final wines was very low.

Melatonin is formed during winemaking at safe levels of biogenic amines

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has accepted health claims for the food constituent melatonin because scientific evidence shows that it is effective at reducing sleep onset latency, and that it alleviates subjective feelings of jet lag. According to risk assessment data published by EFSA in 2011, histamine and tyramine are the most toxic biogenic amines and the ones that most affect food safety. The potential formation of biogenic amines is a concern in fermented foods because of the intense microbial activity. Conversely, Saccharomyces cerevisiase produces melatonin during fermentation in the winemaking process. This study aims to evaluate the production of potentially healthy melatonin and toxic biogenic amines during the winemaking process. To this end, 11 biogenic amines (agmatine, cadaverine, histamine, methylamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, spermidine, spermine, tyramine, tryptamine and melatonin) have been monitored during the making of 5 monovarietal wines (Merlot, Palomino Fino, Syrah, Tempranillo and Tintilla de Rota). This paper shows that alcoholic and malolactic fermentation plays a crucial role in the formation of these compounds. Bioactive melatonin is formed at safe levels of the other biogenic amines.

Novel touchdown-PCR method for the detection of putrescine producing gram-negative bacteria in food products

Formation of biogenic amines may occur in food due to metabolic activities of contaminating Gram-negative bacteria. Putrescine is assumed to be the major biogenic amine associated with microbial food spoilage. Gram-negative bacteria can form putrescine by three metabolic pathways that can include eight different enzymes. The objective of this study was to design new sets of primers able to detect all important enzymes involved in the production of putrescine by Gram-negative bacteria. Seven new sets of consensual primers based on gene sequences of different bacteria were designed and used for detection of the speA, adiA, adi, speB, aguA, speC, and speF genes. A newly developed touchdown polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using these primers was successfully applied on several putrescine-producers. Selected PCR products were sequenced and high similarity of their sequences (99-91%) with known sequences of the corresponding genes confirmed high specificity of the developed sets of primers. Furthermore, all the investigated bacteria produced both putrescine and agmatine, an intermediate of putrescine production, which was confirmed by chemical analysis. The developed new touchdown PCR method could easily be used to detect potential foodborne Gram-negative producers of putrescine. The newly developed sets of primers could also be useful in further research on putrescine metabolism in contaminating microbiota.

Evaluation of biogenic amines content in chilean reserve varietal wines

Biogenic amines play important roles in many physiological functions, but when they are ingested in high concentrations may produce severe adverse effects. The aim of this research was to evaluate the biogenic amine content in Chilean reserve varietal wines. A high performance liquid chromatography method was optimized and validated to quantify histamine, tyramine, spermine, spermidine, putrescine, cadaverine and phenylethylamine in Chilean wines. Derivatization and chromatographic conditions were optimized using a central composite design. Sixty reserve wines of the most important Chilean grape varieties were analyzed, i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon (n=11), Merlot (n=11), Carménère (n=11), Syrah (n=10) and Sauvignon Blanc (n=10), as well as organic wines (n=7). Biogenic amines content ranged from 2.19 to 65.09 mg L(-1), no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carménère but all showed statistically higher (P<0.05) concentrations than Sauvignon Blanc. Syrah wines showed no difference (P>0.05) with Cabernet Sauvignon, higher concentrations (P<0.05) than Sauvignon Blanc and lower than Merlot and Carménère. Regarding biogenic amines profile, putrescine showed the highest concentration in all grape varieties.