Determination of histamine in fish and fish products by tandem solid-phase extraction

A simple and practical method was developed for the determination of histamine in fish and fish products by solid-phase extraction and fluorescence derivatization. Histamine was extracted with trichloroacetic acid. The extract was neutralized and diluted with phosphate buffer (pH 6.8), and cleaned up with a tandem-connected octadecyl silica (ODS) and strong cation exchange silica (SCX) cartridge. After removal of the solvent, histamine was derivatized with fluorescamine and analyzed by ion-paired reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Recovery tests of histamine from six kinds of fish and fish products showed acceptable recovery (83-92%) with low relative standard deviation (less than 5%). This method could be useful for determination of histamine in fish.