Histamine, Nitrate, and Nitrite Content in Canned and Fresh Apple Products

Parisa Ziarati¹, Estatira Sepehr² and Saeed Heidari³  

¹Department of Medicinal Chemistry , Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, IAUPS, Tehran, Iran.

²Food Toxicology Department  , Division of Biochemical Toxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson.

³Nutrition and Food Sciences Research Center, , Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran-Iran.

Corresponding Author E-mail: ziarati.p@iaups.ac.ir

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2515

ABSTRACT: Histamine, a biogenic amine, and inorganic nitrate and nitrite are nitrogenous compounds occurring in many foods.  There has been increasing interest in determination of histamine, nitrate, and nitrite levels in fruits and canned products due to their potential adverse health effects on humans and animals. The aim of this study was to determine levels of nitrate and nitrite in commercially available canned apple products compared to fresh fruit collected from the Fars province of Iran. The nitrate content and histamine concentration in fresh and canned apples were determined by calorimetric methods and capillary electrophoresis, respectively.  The histamine content of canned apples was determined at four different storage times.  Also, physiochemical characteristics, such as pH and vitamin C content of the samples, were also determined. The results revealed that nitrate and nitrite levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) (up to four-fold) in canned apples compared to fresh apples from specific regions, which might be due to genotypic variations from different geographical sources.The histamine content in canned apples tested twelve months after the date of production was significantly higher (P < 0.003) (up to three-fold) than levels in canned apples tested one month after production, suggesting that the length of storage may have an effect on histamine concentration.

KEYWORDS: Canned Apple; Food Safety; Histamine; Genotype; Nitrate

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