Inhibition of biogenic amines accumulation during Yucha fermentation by autochthonous Lactobacillus plantarum strains

Toxic biogenic amines (BAs), especially histamine, in food is a major safety issue. Two autochthonous Lactobacillus plantarum strains were inoculated as starters to reduce BAs in Yucha, a kind of spontaneously fermented fish in China. Taxonomic analysis demonstrated the proportion of Lactobacillus genus in inoculated Yucha was higher than that in the spontaneously fermented Yucha, suggesting the effective colonization abilities of the starters. Higher abundance of Lactobacillus genus resulted in less BAs contents in the inoculated Yucha as compared to that in the spontaneously ones throughout the fermentation stage. At the end of fermentation, L. plantarum strains reduced total content of the six BAs by 67.5%–97.3%; specifically, they reduced the concentration of histamine by 85.4%–96.4%. The BAs-degradation ability in the model systems indicated that the two L. plantarum strains could not degrade BAs directly. Instead, starters reduced BAs accumulation by inhibition of the growth or biological activities of BAs-producing bacterial genera. Practical applications The presence of biogenic amines (BAs) in fish products poses a health risk for consumers. This work provided two promising starters to reduce BAs accumulation in Yucha and a foundation for better understanding the BAs metabolic features. These findings could contribute to the safe production of Yucha and other similar fermented fish products.