Biogenic Amines in Wines: A Review.

Biogenic amines are basic nitrogen compounds that can have toxicological effects on human health when present in foods and beverages at significant levels. These compounds in small amounts are produced in all living organisms and have an important role in cell growth and development and in protection of stressed cells, but their presence in foods at dangerous levels is principally attributed to microbial decarboxylation of the corresponding amino acids. Therefore, the occurrence of biogenic amines can be related to both food safety and food spoilage, becoming a useful index for the assessment of food quality and of the related manufacturing practices. Nowadays an increasing attention is given to the presence in wine of biogenic amines, whose level and the possible synergic effect with ethanol may represent a significant risk for some consumers. The major toxicological implications are related to aromatic amines, such as histamine, tyramine, and 2-phenylethylamine; nevertheless, for these amines it is quite difficult to establish the exact threshold toxicity, which depends on the efficiency of the detoxification mechanisms of different individuals. However, some countries have set limits for histamine in wine ranging from 2 to 10 mg/L, while for tyramine levels exceeding 10 mg/L in beverages should be considered unsafe. Several other amines may be found in wine, among them polyamines which result able to enhance the adverse effect of aromatic amines or to cause negative consequences on wine aroma. Moreover, spermine and spermidine, that have secondary group, are involved in nitrosamine formation, compounds with a known cancerous action. Volatile amines, such as methylamine and ethylamine, come from amination of non-nitrogen compounds, such as aldehydes and ketones. They have not a toxic action, but can have a negative effect on wine aroma. Biogenic amines usually found in wines are cadaverine, histamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine and tyramine; agmatine and ethanolamine can be abundant in wines, but they are generally little investigated. Low biogenic amine amounts, as normal constituents of the raw materials, can be released in must from grape and pulp during the winemaking process, and the biogenic amine concentration may increase as consequence of alcoholic fermentation, yeast autolysis, MLF and wine aging, usually being red wines richer in amines than white wines. In this work an overview of the presence of biogenic amines in wines is given, with a focus on the factors (i.e. microorganisms, raw materials, and processing techniques) affecting their presence and concentration in this alcoholic beverage.