A high-performance liquid chromatography method is described for the simultaneous determination of the biogenic amines tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine and spermine in cheese. The optimization of the procedure for the extraction of amines from the matrix is described. The separation of dansyl derivatives of the amines was achieved by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with gradient elution, followed by UV detection at 254 nm. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 7)-water. Under these conditions, rapid elution of the amines in less than 13 min was obtained. Validation of the method included calibration experiments, addition of standard amines for the determination of amine recoveries and repeatability tests.
