Spectrofluorometric determination of histamine in wines and other alcoholic beverages.

The spectrofluorometric determination of histamine in wines, other alcoholic beverages, and vinegars is described. Histamine is extracted with n-butanol, transferred to hydrochloric acid, and subjected to a condensation reaction with o-phthalaldehyde (OPT). The method was tested for sensitivity (0.03 ppm limit of detection and 0.08 ppm limit of determination), precision (6.4% CV for a content of 1.25 ppm and 19.5% CV for a content of 0.25 ppm), accuracy (97.1%), recovery (90.6-96.9%), and lack of interference by histidine. The method can be applied to wine, must, beer, champagne, cider, vermouth, and vinegar with satisfactory results.