Residual nitrite and biogenic amines of traditional northeast sauerkraut in China

Abstract

The safety of northeast sauerkraut (NS) has always been a concern in China. In the present study, the nitrite and biogenic amine (BA) contents in 378 NS, collected or purchased from Chinese families and markets (including morning markets and local supermarkets), were measured. The results showed that the nitrite and BA contents of samples from Chinese families and some morning markets were higher than those from local supermarkets. The highest level of nitrites was 38.5 ± 5.2 mg/kg in unpackaged NS from Chinese families, and the lowest was 17.2 ± 2.1 mg/kg in packaged NS from local supermarkets. The highest levels of tyramine and tryptamine were 203 ± 3 and 28.1 ± 4 mg/kg in unpackaged NS from Chinese families, respectively. The highest levels of histamine, putrescine, and cadaverine were mainly found in Chinese families and morning markets, and the lowest level of BAs was from local supermarkets. The results suggest that improving the safety of NS by controlling environmental sanitation and strengthening standardised production is a top priority at present in China.

Evaluation of the Relationship among Biogenic Amines, Nitrite and Microbial Diversity in Fermented Mustard

“…It was reported that putrescine, tyramine, cadaverine, histamine and tryptamine constitute a major part of BA profiles in sauerkraut [ 6 , 15 ]. This study found six common BAs with different contents in FM samples ( Table 3 ), including tryptamine (11.02–35.74 mg/kg), putrescine (3.79–39.71 mg/kg), cadaverine (0–97.92 mg/kg), histamine (1.43–213.13 mg/kg), tyramine (0–37.85 mg/kg), and spermidine (0–3.39 mg/kg).…”

“…Mesenteroides were found to be able to metabolize nitrite [ 25 ]. Furthermore, it was reported that enzymatic activity and microbial metabolism were influenced by some ingredients in fermented vegetables, such as salt, sugar, ginger and garlic, which could change the nitrite contents during the fermentation process [ 15 ].…”

“…However, they were quite different from Korean kimchi whose dominant microbial communities are Leuconostoc , Weissella and Lactobacillus [ 33 ]. In fact, Leuconostoc and Weissella were not the main genera in the samples, possibly due to the influence of environmental factors, such as the concentration of salty water, fermentation period and temperature [ 15 ]. In addition, the genus Arcobacter was also highly abundant in some samples (GDCH, GDJZ, SCYG, etc.).…”

“…Xia et al [ 41 ] reported that Lactobacillus brevis AR123 could significantly quicken degradation of nitrite and shorten the fermentation period for fermented vegetables. Xia et al [ 15 ] reported that the concentrations of BAs and nitrite in pickled cabbage inoculated with starter cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum were remarkably lower than those in the spontaneous fermentation system during the entire fermentation process. In addition, Rabie et al [ 45 ] reported that upon inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum 2142 in fermented vegetables, the total biogenic amine contents remained considerably lower than those of the control.…”

“…In addition, nitrite may be involved in the formation of N -nitrosamine by N -nitrosation reactions with dietary-derived amines in the stomach [ 13 , 14 ]. Liu, et al [ 15 ] reported that the nitrite content in 65 out of 378 fermented vegetable samples was found to be above 20 mg/kg, which is the maximum nitrite content in fermented vegetables specified by the National Food Safety Standard. Therefore, it is necessary to control the formation of nitrite in FM.…”