Potential of Bacillus velezensis for biodegradation of food-associated biogenic amines

Biogenic amines (BAs) are important food safety hazards that may accumulate in fermented and protein-rich foods as a consequence of microbial amino acid decarboxylation. The present study investigated the biodegradation potential of Bacillus velezensis toward four food-associated biogenic amines, namely histamine, cadaverine, spermine, and β-phenylethylamine, under controlled laboratory conditions and evaluated its potential applicability as a biological detoxification agent. Individual biogenic amines were added to culture media at an initial concentration of 50 mg/L and incubated with B. velezensis for up to 168 h. Residual amine concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) following benzoyl chloride derivatization, and biodegradation efficiencies were calculated relative to experimentally determined initial concentrations.

Distinct substrate-dependent degradation patterns were observed. Histamine exhibited the highest susceptibility to biodegradation, with residual concentrations decreasing to 18.1% after 54 h and becoming undetectable after 60 h of incubation. Cadaverine showed a pronounced decrease during the intermediate stages of incubation, whereas spermine and β-phenylethylamine exhibited comparatively slower removal profiles. Nevertheless, all four biogenic amines were below the analytical detection limit at the final sampling point (168 h).

For all tested biogenic amines, residual concentrations decreased significantly over time (one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), P  < .05). The compounds nevertheless exhibited clearly different time-dependent removal profiles.

The results demonstrate that B. velezensis possesses a substantial capacity to degrade structurally diverse biogenic amines under controlled conditions. Particularly noteworthy was the rapid elimination of histamine, one of the most toxic and regulatory-relevant biogenic amines in fermented foods. The efficient degradation of histamine and spermine, together with the marked reduction of cadaverine, indicates that B. velezensis may represent a promising candidate for biogenic amine control in fermented food systems. These findings support further investigations in real food matrices and suggest that B. velezensis warrants additional evaluation as a potential starter or adjunct culture for improving food safety through the biological reduction of biogenic amine accumulation.