Abstract: In the present study, strains with degradation activity for biogenic amines were screened from naturally fermented fish sauce, and the effects of fermentation time and temperature on the content of biogenic amines were investigated. A total of 10 strains were obtained from natural fish sauce subjected to fermentation for 3 months. After 72 hours of fermentation at 30 ℃, the degradation rate of histamine was in the range of 17.3%－62.2%, and the degradation rate of tyramine was in the range of 12.4%－57.3%. The strain M8 with the highest activity was identified as Kodamaea ohmeri yeast through 26S rDNA sequence and online sequence alignment. Meanwhile, the strain revealed the strongest degradation activity for biogenic amines at 30 ℃. During fermentation, the content of biogenic amines revealed a decrease on the first day and an increase on the second day as well as the highest level on the third day, and then exhibited a decrease trend until the end of fermentation. After 9 days of fermentation at 30 ℃, the contents of histamine and tyramine were reduced to 30.4% and 20.8% of the initial levels, respectively. The strain M8 Kodamaea ohmeri yeast could reveal the best degradation activity for biogenic amines in the presence of 25% salt. Under the optimal conditions, histamine and tyramine were reduced to 35.6% and 27.6%, respectively.

Key words: fish sauce, biogenic amines, Kodamaea ohmeri