Abstract:

Dry-cured perch was salted with sodium chloride (NaCl), which was substituted by different amounts of
potassium chloride (KCl), and dry-ripened at 15 ℃, and 80%—90% relative humidity for 84 h. Through analyzing the
physical and chemical properties, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), biogenic amine content and sensory quality, the
inhibitory effect of partial replacement of KCl by NaCl on biogenic amine were studied in ripened samples. A total of six
biogenic amines,putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermine and spermidine, were detected in ripened perch
samples. As substitution of NaCl with KCl was increased from 0 to 50%, the total content of biogenic amine in ripened
samples decreased first and then increased. When the percentage of substitution was 20%, the total content of biogenic
amine was lowest with a value of 192.17 mg/kg, which was reduced by 62.90% as compared with that of the control (without
KCl substitution), while the contents of putrescine, cadaverine and histamine were reduced by 76.94%, 84.68% and 54.46%,
respectively. Sensory analysis results indicated that the sensory quality was not significantly altered when the percentage
of KCl substitute was equal to or lower than 40%. These results suggest that partial substitution of NaCl with KCl can
significantly (P ＜ 0.05) inhibit the formation of biogenic amines, while maintainingthe original sensory quality of air drycured
perch.

Key words: perch, dry curing, replacement with KCl, biogenic amines, inhibitory effect