Accumulation γ-Aminobutyric Acid and Biogenic Amines in a Traditional Raw Milk Ewe’s Cheese

Abstract

<jats:p>The influence of calf (R1), kid (R2) and pig (R3) rennets on microbiota, biogenic amines (BAs) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulation in raw milk ewe’s cheeses was evaluated. Cheeses were investigated at different ripening times for their microbial composition, free amino acids (FAAs), BAs and GABA content. Moreover, the expression of tyrosine (tdc) and histidine (hdc) decarboxylases genes was evaluated by quantitative Real Time–Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Microbial counts showed similar values in all samples. Pig rennet were cheeses were characterized by higher proteolysis and the highest values of BAs. The BAs detected were putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine, while histamine was absent. qRT-PCR confirmed this data, in fact hdc gene was not upregulated, while tdc gene expression increased over time in agreement with the increasing content of tyramine and the highest fold changes were detected in R3 cheeses. GABA showed the highest concentration in R2 cheeses reaching a value of 672 mg/kg. These results showed that the accumulation of BAs and GABA in Pecorino di Farindola is influenced by ripening time and type of coagulant. Further studies are required to develop starter cultures to reduce BAs content and improve health characteristics of raw milk ewe’s cheeses.</jats:p>

Chemical characterization of ‘Pecorino Di Farindola’ cheese during ripening

“…Some authors have attributed the bitter flavour in cheese to the concentration of arginine (Arg) (Barcina et al, 1995;Pappa and Sotirakoglou, 2008). In all samples, ornithine (Orn) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were found; they do not originate from casein but are the products of microbial metabolism and are established functional AAs (Diana et al, 2014;Tofalo et al, 2019). As for GABA, its anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic properties and its…”

“…ability to reduce stress and anxiety are widely recognised (Redruello et al, 2020;Tofalo et al, 2019). GABA is synthesised by glutamate decarboxylase through the decarboxylation of L-glutamate; milk origin, milk treatment, proteolytic activity, fat content, texture, ripening time and climate are reported to be the key factors governing its accumulation (Redruello et al, 2020).…”

Role of fermented dairy foods in human health

“…The mechanism by which bacterial exopolysaccharides could reduce total serum cholesterol involves binding cholesterol, reducing cholesterol absorption, and inducing the release of bile acids (Tok and Aslim, 2010). Tofalo et al (2019) studied the effect of traditional cheese fermentation on the accumulation of healthy (γ-aminobutyric acid or GABA) and toxic biogenic amines (BA) compounds and Covered by Clarivate Analytics Services: Emerging Sources Citation Index confirmed a greater BA formation and proteolytic activity in cheese made by pig rennet than those made by calf rennet. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a generic term used for describing the geometrical and positional isomers of linoleic acid (C18:2 cis9, cis12) with a conjugated double bond system (Jones et al 2005) which are biologically active molecules due to their protective effects against various common diseases such as obesity (Kennedy et al 2010), atherosclerosis, diabetes (Dilzer and Park,2012), some chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer (Evans et al 2010).…”

Increasing γ-Aminobutyric Acid Content in Vegetable Soybeans via High-Pressure Processing and Efficacy of Their Antidepressant-Like Activity in Mice

“…oligosporus IFO 32,002 and IFO 32,003 using soybean as a substrate is a rapid and high-yield production method that can produce 1.74 g/100 g of GABA [ 24 , 25 ]. Tofalo et al [ 26 ] suggested that carefully selected autochthonous amine-negative and amine-oxidizing LAB could reduce butyric acid (BA) accumulation in traditionally-made cheese. Control of milk quality, ripening time, and coagulant type could increase GABA synthesis in dairy products.…”