Amino acid-decarboxylase activity of bacteria isolated from fermented pork sausages

The occurrence of amino acid-decarboxylase activity in 92 strains of lactic acid bacteria, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and Enterobacteriaceae isolated from Spanish fermented pork sausages was investigated. The presence of biogenic amines in a decarboxylase synthetic broth was determined by ion-pair high performance liquid chromatography with o-phtalaldehyde post-column derivatization. Among the 66 lactic acid bacteria strains tested, 21 lactobacilli (in particular, Lactobacillus curvatus) and all 16 enterococci were amine producers. Tyramine was the main amine produced by these bacteria, although they also produced phenylethylamine, tryptamine, and/or the diamines putrescine and cadaverine. None of the lactic acid bacteria produced histamine. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were found to be negative amine-producers. Aromatic monoamines, apart from histamine, were not formed by Enterobacteriaceae. This family was responsible for cadaverine and putrescine production. The results obtained for biogenic amine production by bacteria in a synthetic medium suggest that amino acid-decarboxylase activity is strain dependent rather than being related to specific species.