Biogenic Amines: Toxicology and Health Effect

Biogenic amines (BAs) are organic bases that play several physiological roles in humans, acting as local hormones and neurotransmitters modulating smooth muscle cell contraction, vasodilatation, increased vascular permeability and mucus secretion, tachycardia, alterations of blood pressure, arrhythmias, gastric acid secretion, and nociception in nerve fibers. However, when ingested in high concentrations, they can cause a range of toxicological effects such as migraine, headaches, gastric and intestinal problems, and pseudoallergic responses, mainly due to the toxic action of histamine and tyramine. In particular, histamine toxicity seems enhanced by the presence of other amines such as cadaverine, putrescine, and tyramine, which act as potentiators of its toxicity. Moreover, some BAs (spermidine, spermine, tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverine), when subjected to heat, can give rise to the formation of secondary amines, and in the presence of nitrites, these can generate nitrosamines, chemical agents considered to possess major carcinogenic properties. Under normal conditions, the human body is able to detoxify BAs ingested from foods by acetylation and oxidation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) and diamine oxidase (DAO) and specific amine methyltransferases. However, this detoxification system can be negatively influenced by some food components (other amines, alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde, phenols, etc.), drugs acting as inhibitors of MAO and DAO and tobacco.