Abstract: The study examined the effects of garlic essential oil and starter cultures on the accumulation of biogenic amines in smoked horse sausages. Biogenic amines were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography, and the changes of microbial diversity and biogenic amine contents were analyzed by using metagenomics. The results indicated that the combined use of starter cultures and garlic essential oil could reduce the accumulation of cadaverine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine and phenylethylamine and thus had a significant role in controlling the content of biogenic amines. The smoked sausages were rich in microbial species; lactic acid bacteria were the dominant bacteria at the family level throughout the processing of sausages and Staphylococcus was detected in large quantity during the late ripening period.

Key words: high performance liquid chromatography, biogenic amine, garlic essential oil, starter cultures, bacterial distribution