Elsevier

Food Control

Volume 18, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 898-903
Food Control

Putrescine production from agmatine by Lactobacillus hilgardii: Effect of phenolic compounds

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2006.05.006Get rights and content

Abstract

The influence of phenolic compounds on the growth of Lactobacillus hilgardii X1B and putrescine formation was assayed at concentrations normally present in wine. Agmatine degradation increased growth and survival of the microorganism and the alkalinity of the media. Bacterial growth was stimulated by phenolic compounds, except for gallic acid and quercetin. Putrescine formation from agmatine diminished in the presence of protocatechuic, vanillic and caffeic acids, and the flavonoids catechin and rutin. The concentration of phenolic compounds decreased after five days of incubation of L hilgardii X1B, except for gallic acid and quercetin. The results indicate that phenolic compounds, besides their already known beneficial properties to human health, seem to be a natural way of diminishing putrescine formation.

Introduction

Biogenic amines, toxic compounds for human health, formed from the amino acid precursors by living cells are small organic compounds found in all living organisms (Janowitz, Kneifel, & Piotrowski, 2003) and they are extremely sensitive to changes in the external environment (Rodríguez, de Armas, Vicente, & Legaz, 2000). Their presence in wine has been suggested as an index of quality (i.e., bad manufacturing practices) (Lethonen et al., 1992, Radler and Fäth, 1991). Biogenic amines have been involved in food poisoning incidences, usually from the consumption of fermented foods containing high amounts of those substances (González de Llano, Cuesta, & Rodríguez, 1998). Furthermore, biogenic amines like tyramine as well as diamines such as putrescine and cadaverine have been described as precursors of carcinogenic nitrosamines (ten Brink, Damink, Joosten, & Huis in ’t Veld, 1990). Alcohol may enhance the effect of amines present in wine. In fermented foods or beverages, biogenic amines are mainly generated by bacteria that are capable to decarboxylate the amino acid precursors under favorable conditions for enzyme activity. Lactic acid bacteria are reported as the main producers of biogenic amines in alcoholic beverages. It is assumed that biogenic amines found in foods and wines are produced by specific amino acid decarboxylases from lactic acid bacteria during fermentation (Farías et al., 1995, Kalăc et al., 2002, Lucas et al., 2003).

Putrescine is the most abundant biogenic amine found in wine (Soufleros, Barrios, & Bertrand, 1998) and agmatine is the most prevalent one in beer (Glória & Izquierdo Pulido, 1999). Arena and Manca de Nadra (2001) reported that agmatine was formed as an intermediate in the formation of putrescine from arginine in Lactobacillus hilgardii X1B, isolated from wine. Putrescine is formed from agmatine through a pathway that does not involve amino acid decarboxylase or formation of urea (Arena, 2001).

Production of biogenic amines under laboratory conditions does not imply similar behaviour in fermented products. Wines are complex systems with a wide number of factors influencing microbial growth and metabolism. We are not aware of information about the influence of phenolic compounds, quantitatively one of the most important substances found in wine, on putrescine formation.

Grape phenolics are the main compounds responsible for color, taste, oxidation and other chemical reactions in wine and juice. They have received considerable attention because of their potential antioxidant activity. The specific amounts and types of phenolics present in grapes and wines depend on a number of factors, including variety and maturity of the grape, seasonal conditions, storage and the vinification process (phenol carboxylic acids, 100–200 mg/l, catechin, 10–400 mg/l, quercetin, 5–20 mg/l).

Phenolic compounds may affect growth and metabolism of lactic acid bacteria (Alberto et al., 2001, Alberto et al., 2002). In addition, Alberto, Gómez-Cordovés, and Manca de Nadra (2004) demonstrated the degradation of gallic acid and catechin by L. hilgardii 5w.

We have no knowledge that studies have been conducted to ascertain if phenolic compounds, natural components of red wine, can affect biogenic amine production by wine lactic acid bacteria.

This paper reports on the influence of phenolic compounds on growth survival and agmatine metabolism of L. hilgardii X1B, a bacterium from wine able to produce important levels of putrescine.

Section snippets

Microorganism

L. hilgardii X1B was isolated from Argentine wine (Strasser de Saad & Manca de Nadra, 1987).

Chemicals

Gallic acid was obtained from Merck, catechin and agmatine were obtained from Sigma, and vanillic acid, quercetin, protocatechuic acid, rutin and caffeic acid were purchased from ICN.

Media, growth conditions and culture procedures

The basal medium (BM) contained, in g/l peptone (Britania), 5; yeast extract (Britania), 3; glucose (Cicarelli), 1; pyridoxal-5-phosphate (Sigma), 0.005 and 10% tomato juice. Putrescine formation was tested by adding 0.5 g/l

Effect of phenolic compounds on bacterial growth

Fig. 1 shows the influence of agmatine and different phenolic compounds on L. hilgardii growth. After 50 h of incubation at 30 °C, maximal growth (OD 560 nm) after addition of agmatine increased from 0.390 to 0.430 with respect to control media. In the presence of phenolic acids (Fig. 1a and c) the OD560 increased from 0.365 to 0.412 for gallic acid, from 0.432 to 0.488 for vanillic acid, from 0.381 to 0.554 for protocatechuic acid and from 0.534 to 0.541 for caffeic acid due to the addition of

Discussion

L. hilgardii represents an important organism in fermented beverage spoilage and is usually involved in wine making and other food processes (Tonon & Lonvaud-Funel, 2002). The presence of agmatine in the media increased growth of L. hilgardii X1B. It is well known that decarboxylation may be used to generate metabolic energy via a general mechanism common to a variety of decarboxylases (Christensen, Dudley, Pederson, & Steele, 1999). This fact could explain the increase in growth in the

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge support of this work by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Consejo de Investigaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (CIUNT).

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