A Novel Method for Determination of Histamine in Tuna Fish by Ion Mobility Spectrometry

摘要

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was used for determination of the histamine content in samples of tuna stomach, and the results were compared with measurements by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) that is considered the "gold standard" method. The production of histamine as a function of storage time at ambient temperature (2529 degrees C) was followed by both methods and a good correlation was found between them. The results were validated by IMS and HPLC measurements of samples of fresh tuna fillets in which the initial histamine level was below 10 mg histamine per kg (10 ppm). The level gradually increased to thousands of milligrams per kilogram after about 30 h at ambient temperature. In the IMS measurements, the intensity ratio between the fragment ion of histamine (K-0=2.73 cm(2) V-1 s(-1)) and the sum of all the ions in the mobility spectrum served to quantify the histamine level in the fish samples. Thus, a rapid, simple, and inexpensive method was developed for determination of histamine in tuna.